Death Is Bigger: 1984-85, by Getting the Fear

Death Is Bigger: 1984-85

by Getting the Fear

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absinthefaery Lord of the Rings meets Lord of the Flies, on ludes. A secret masterpiece that only your coolest friend ever knew existed. Favorite track: Yurune (Demo Version).

craig andrews good melodic post punk

Brian Could play and kill at any 80's club. Good album. Underrated band. Favorite track: Against the Wind.

jakebear It takes me back to a different time in my life.Lovely to hear the songs again

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Preorder, Out June 18

Includes unlimited streaming of Death Is Bigger: 1984-85 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

edition of 600 9 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$24.99 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Preorder, Out June 18

Includes unlimited streaming of Death Is Bigger: 1984-85 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

edition of 800

Purchasable with gift card

$24.99 USD or more

1.	Rise (Demo Version) 03:42	buy track
2.	Dune Buggy Attack 04:37	buy track
3.	Last Salute (Demo Version) 03:03	buy track
4.	Against the Wind 03:39	buy track
5.	We Struggle 04:45	buy track
6.	Sometimes 03:50	buy track
7.	Yurune (Demo Version) 04:33	buy track
8.	Fatal Date 03:42	buy track
9.	Getting the Fear 02:49	buy track
10.	Swell (Demo Version) 04:42	buy track
11.	Michael (Row the Boat Ashore) 02:52	buy track
12.	Spirit of Youth 03:48	buy track

about

It's testament to how fertile England's mid-80's musical landscape was that the splintering of short-lived post-punk pioneers Southern Death Cult seeded so many memorable but divergent groups – from widescreen rock legends The Cult to romantic pop duo Into A Circle to “the Asian Public Enemy,” Fun-Da-Mental. But the band's most potent subsequent cross-pollination was undoubtedly Getting The Fear, formed by The SDC's rhythm section of Barry Jepson, David 'Buzz' Burrows, and Aki Haq Nawaz Qureshi, joined by Temple Ov Psychic Youth associate Paul ‘Bee’ Hampshire on vocals.

Galvanized by Margaret Thatcher's “iron fist” austerity policies and the cultural liberation of punk, the group blazed to creative fruition, quickly landing a lucrative deal with RCA. But immediately after recording their 1984 debut single, Last Salute, a shake-up at the label left them stranded and without support. Rather than stall in music industry purgatory they chose to dissolve, escaping their restrictive contract. Bee's lyrics on “Last Salute” are fitting final words: “If this must end let it pass me by / I’ll remain your friend, only flowers die.”

But this is of course only part of the story. Death Is Bigger: 1984-1985 rectifies history's error, collecting the group's entire vault of demos and unreleased songs alongside liner notes and a photo gallery capturing Getting The Fear in all their high libertine glory. The compilation's 10 tracks are alternately brooding, spiky, and sneering, fixated on dreams, sex, and Charles Manson (the sleeve of Last Salute famously features a detail from Manson's embroidered waistcoat, unbeknownst to label execs). Razor wire guitars slice across tense rhythms, veering between minimal and melodic, occasionally flowering into psychedelic poetry, revealing Bee's deep affinity with Psychic TV.

Taken as a whole, the album showcases the breadth of forking paths facing UK post-punk in 1984: pop eating itself, new wave while still new, transgression as alternative not affectation. Getting The Fear's music feels eclectic and unfettered, following whim, lust, and impulse, glinting with darkness against the fires of youth: “The earth is still beneath my feet, I start to sink to lose myself / Friends and lovers stand around unconcerned, their eyes in flames.”

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released June 18, 2021

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about

Getting the Fear England, UK

Legendary 1983 UK post-punk from ex-Southern Death Cult members Barry Jepson, Buzz Burrows, Aki Haq Nawaz Qureshi with enigmatic singer Bee Hampshire (PTV, Into a Circle).

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