The Nug Kickers
The Nug Kickers
Genres: Skinhead, Oi, punk, british, cock sparrer
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About The Nug Kickers
IT ALL STARTED IN THE SUMMER OF 1969... The youth was frustrated on the hot streets of Essex, England and a feeling of apathy spread through the town like smoke from a freshly lit joint. Nathan O' Shannon (AKA Nathan Nuggs), a young skinhead, had just returned from a long awaited pilgrimage to Amsterdam, Holland where he discovered something that little did he know would change the course of his own life and the Oi music scene forever. Her name was "Mary-Jane" and needless to say he was in love. The music scene seemed to be swaying in another direction back in those days, but there were still those who wanted more than the worthless piss that was generating the pop charts. Bands were starting to spring up all over London and elsewhere as a counter culture began brewing underground. Little did they know what was happening in a small squat in Essex. First calling themselves "The Bong Hit Boys", the foursome had acquired equipment by selling their homegrown ganja to reggae and dancehall groups who frequently passed through town. Legend has it that even Bob Marley and The Wailers, after being busted by London airport customs got their hands on some of the Kickers stash. The squat, then known by the local skins and punks as "SkinHeadquarters" consisted of Nathan's mates and band members "Rick Reefer"(guitar), "Bong Hit" Montgomery (bass), and Jeff (drums). The four would "Get blitzed out of their bloody minds and play til dawn, or when the weed was gone", former squat mate and friend "Lumpy Lou" once said. The word was out and kids from all over the east and west ends would trek to "Skinheadquarters" just to catch a glimpse, give a listen, and smoke with the now popular local "stoner skins". In 1971 they changed their name to the "Nug Kickers" after deciding it was more fitting, and with their new found following formed S.H.I.T (skin heads into thc) which is still around to this day in parts of the UK and Germany. It was time to start doing some gigs. Their first show, now legendary, was at Stubby Mcfadden's Pub in Essex in the fall of 1971. S.H.I.Ts and others who had heard rumors of the band filled the pub beyond capacity awaiting to see what all the hub-bub was about. The boys set up around 7 and disappeared for about an hour. The crowd became restless, when suddenly a door opened billowing massive clouds of smoke throughout the pub. The crowd went crazy as the red eyed smiling singer announced into the mic "Were the fucking Nug Kickers!". At one point those who were there said it became impossible to see a foot in front of them as they were immersed in the fog of smoke from numerous joints and pipes being passed around. "Bong hits could be heard almost a block away" said pub owner Stubby, "I've never seen some many skinheads in my life let alone ones smoking dope". It truly was the start of a something new. Dope was the new hope in Essex that night and began a long relationship between skins and blunts. By March 72' the squat was gone. Raided and destroyed by Essex police one night while the boy's were playing a gig at a local seafood restaurant. It was quite a blow to the band. "Skinheadquarters" was no more. Thankfully they were with instruments when the squat was raided, and more importantly they took most of their stash with them wherever they went, so it seemed like not a total loss. They made a few business transactions and by the end of the day they were on a train to London. They knew if the band was to make it, London was the place to find out. Beatlemania was sweeping the Americas and Europe at the time and as it turned out they found themselves settled in with a S.H.I.T mate blocks away from Abbey Road. As the myth goes Nathan and Rick were trying to make a sale on the street just outside Abbey Road studios when a man walked out smoking a cigarette. "Hey mate I got something better than that fag you've got" Nathan squawked. He showed the "first timer" his stash and made the deal. "Thank you much, my friends and I having been wanting to try this" said the man as he finished his smoke and walked back in through the studio doors. Later that day they saw the same man on the cover of a magazine under the headline "McCartney Tells All". Sure, Bob Dylan may have smoked with them, but it was really Nuggs who got them hooked. By mid 72' they had their first self-titled e.p. The record featured the classic anthem "Nug Kickers (want to get high)" along with "Saturday Night" and "Policeman (stole man weed)". Only 20 copies were made before the master tapes were ruined by bong water before the 2nd pressing. The e.p is now one of the rarest records sought out by collectors today. After the bong water fiasco they decided to stick to gigging. They attracted loads of stoner skins and punks to any gig they could get, libraries, playgrounds, retirement homes, pubs, parties, weddings and funerals. No gig was too small or too stoned. It seemed that this ragged band of red eyed skins were finally uniting a disgruntled youth. It was not all bongs and games as was learned at a pub in Manchester after a gig. It seemed the Kickers now had made quite a name for themselves in the east and west ends of London and when the racist skinhead group "H.F.S" (Hooligans For Speed) caught wind, the meth riddled gang struck. Nathan and Jeff were smoking a joint outside when H.F.S leader Mickey Von Meth and other members started running their tooth-less mouths. A brawl ensued and because of the slow reaction time of the boy's Jeff was left with his right thumb missing and Nathan with a pulled hamstring. Nathan's hamstring heeled, but with Jeff's missing right thumb he could no longer hold a drumstick. Jeff left the band in early 74' and was replaced by another guy named Jeff who lived up the way from the boys and who had been following the band since Essex. They recorded their second e.p in July. They called the e.p "Stoned Streets of London" which included the hits "Stoned Streets of London", "Weed (it's what I need)" and an all out attack on the H.F.S called "Meth Stomper". The song was a shot heard round the world, and for the S.H.I.Ts it meant meth-heads v.s pot-heads across the U.K. Nathan later told an interviewer "I regret causing this violence over a tune, but there's nothing in my mind worse than a bloody racist meth-head". Needless to say the battle continues. After more gigs and the release of the e.p on their own record label "Bong Squad" records they took a hiatus that lasted until the summer of 77'. Many thought it was over or that they died, perhaps H.F.S got the best of em' one night in a dark alley. Could it be cancer? When asked years later just what had happened those 3 years Nathan simply said "Crab fishing". He revealed that he came from a long line of crab fishermen and that he and the band should give it a try, so they hopped on a boat they dubbed "Mary-Jane" and sailed the sea catching crab and smoking joints,"It was a good way to unwind after years of gigging and that". Come the summer of 77' the Kickers were back with a bang, this time releasing their first and only full length album "The Bong is Back" featuring "Mary Jane is a Friend of Mine" and "Skins & Blunts". The album sold like hot cakes as it seemed they were now bigger than ever and back with a vengeance. Punk and Oi were now in full swing (which many give Nug Kickers credit for) and there were plenty of bands to play gigs with. 77' began with legendary shows with up and coming bands like Cocksparrer, and Menace both paying homage to their influencers. There was no time for gigs in libraries and playgrounds anymore, now they were being booked into clubs and venues all over Europe. With the 80's approaching it seemed an American tour was eminent. It wasn't until late 1982 that the little stoner band from Essex made it to America. They were given warm receptions filled with joints and baggies of reefer being thrown onstage while they played. They had quite a reputation as being the most influential stoner skinhead band ever, and American cops didn't like it one bit. Many a show would end with riots and the beatings of many bong toting skins and punks and it seemed every where the Kickers went the cops were right behind. On the last date of their American tour at a show at a Catholic Girls school with Discharge, GBH, and fellow stoners the Bad Brains the gig was shut down mid-set because the promoter mistook all the smoke from inside for a fire. He quickly called the police and fire department. The crowd refused to leave and chanted "Nug Kickers! Oi! Oi! Oi!" until the tear gas ensued. The battle raged for over 2 hours and when it was all over the girls school was no more, 2 cops cars where destroyed and one cop lay dead. Apparently witnesses claim that the officer broke one punk's bong, the kid ran, the officer slipped, fell on the broken glass cutting his jugular vein, and bled to death. The next day the paper ran the headline "Nug Kicker Band Kills Cop and Burns Down Catholic School!". They were arrested and put into holding until the facts came in about what really had happened. Before being released they signed autographs for inmates and took pictures with officers who were also fans. They finally returned to London in January of 83'. Quite distraught about the ending of the American tour, they decided to play one last show before heading back out on another crab fishing expedition, and there was only one place to have it, back in there hometown of Essex at none other than Stubby Mcfadden's! So on August 21, 1983 the Nug Kickers played all their hits (and bong hits) to a crowd of over 1,000 people. Some were right up front singing along and toking up, some were in the back trying to make out images in the smoke,and the rest spewed out into the street dancing, singing, smoking and taking part in a truly memorable moment in music history. It was unity at its finest and it was the last time the Nug Kickers were ever seen. The next morning the boy's took off to sail the seas once more, and still have yet to return. Some say they're all in Amsterdam plotting a return tour, others say they're still out there selling sacs to pirates and rich people on yachts and houseboats, but wherever they are they will not be forgotten. Since there disappearance in 83' the Oi music scene has dwindled down with many predecessors and imitators. Even the Discovery Channel cashed in on the Kickers when they heard the story and developed the crab fishing drama "Deadliest Catch". In this day and age I feel we all must be reminded of our roots in life and music. Now, the Nug Kickers have been digitally remastered from albums that were found at a flea market in Bopel, India, a native village in Brazil, and Phil's Used Records in Oakland, and are available for the first time on one compact disc/tape and online. Now you can enjoy the most influential, over the top and most unknown skinhead band in history. So smoke a joint for our boys at sea and pop in the Nug Kickers for old time sake. Oi! -Anonymous (Bong Squad Records)
Taken from Last.fm
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