Charged G.B.H.

Charged GBH is a British punk rock band, formed by vocalist Collin Abrahall, guitarist Colin 'Jock' Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy, and drummer Andrew Williams in 1978. GBH were early pioneers of English hardcore punk, along with Discharge, Broken Bones, The Exploited, and The Varukers. Originally known simply as GBH (inspired by then-bassist Sean McCarthy's trial for grievous bodily harm), their name was changed to Charged GBH in order to differentiate themselves from another band of the same name. Founding members were Colin 'Col' Abrahall (vocals), Colin 'Jock' Blyth (guitar), Sean McCarthy (bass) and Andrew Williams (drums). Charged GBH embarked on several English and mainland US tours during the early 1980s, including several gigs at the 100 Club. 1982 saw GBH's first LP, City Baby Attacked By Rats. Lyrically, the album dealt with criticism of British and European culture, violence, morbidity (especially in reference to the song "Passenger On The Menu", which describes in graphic detail the experiences of the passengers on the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571), atheism, nihilism and general absurdity. Musically, the album was loud and fast, with few songs exceeding three minutes. In 1983 the band changed their name to GBH. Unlike many early punk bands who evolved towards a more post-punk sound, GBH have stayed fairly faithful to their original UK82 sound in subsequent releases. However, the band have experimented to some degree with a more metal-inflected sound, notably with their 1992 release Church of the Truly Warped, although they have since returned to a more purist punk sound. The band is still active and touring and maintain a strong following both in England and the rest of Europe, as well as in America and Japan. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.