Frankie Stubbs' Leatherface were among the early 1990's punk-rockers
(together with Senseless Things,
Mega City Four ,
Ned's Atomic Dustbin ), that opposed the slide into
trivial pop of British rock music.
Beerpig, from
Cherry Knowle (Meantime, 1989), and
Razor Blade And Asperin, from
Fill Your Boots (Roughneck, 1990),
laid the foundations for their epic anthem,
I Want The Moon, the highlight of
Mush (Roughneck, 1991 - Seed, 1992), one of punk-rock's great albums.
While inferior, Minx (Roughneck, 1993) boasts two more of their
classics, Fat Earthy Flirt and Pale Moonlight.
Little White God, perhaps their masterpiece, is on
The Last (Domino, 1993), another impeccable punk album.
The band broke up, but then reformed, returning with the weak
Horsebox (B.Y.O., 2000), whose standout track could be
Lorrydrivers Son.
Leatherface became the leading punk-rock band of the decade in Britain,
but more on moral than artistic grounds. Their epic songs were the covers.
Very few originals were as successful in defining the zeitgeist.
Stubbs' voice was for a while the "voice" of punk-rock in Britain, the same way
that
Henry Rollins was that voice in America,
but his roar relaxed on the later albums.
Dog Disco (Byo, 2004) was still a dignified work, but even less
poignant given the changing times.
