CRASS – THE FEEDING OF THE 5000 LP – Nr MINT UK 1981 PUNK ANARCHO

Crass – The Feeding Of The 5000 (The Second Sitting)
(Crass Records  1981  621984)
Matrix No’s: A2/B1 (2 crossed out) – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Fold Out Poster Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Crass were an English collective and punk rock band formed in 1977 which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action, animal rights and environmentalism. The band used and advocated a DIY punk ethic approach to its sound collages, leaflets, albums and films.

Crass spray-painted stencilled graffiti messages in the London Underground system and on advertising billboards, coordinated squats and organised political action. The band expressed its ideals by dressing in black, military-surplus-style clothing and using a stage backdrop amalgamating icons of perceived authority such as the Christian cross, the swastika, the Union Jack and the ouroboros.

The band was critical of punk subculture and youth culture in general. Crass promoted an anarchism which became more common in the punk-music scene. They are considered art punk in their use of tape collages, graphics, spoken word releases, poetry and improvisation.

The Feeding of the 5000 is the first album by the anarcho-punk band Crass. The album was recorded on October 29th, 1978, by John Loder at Southern Studios and was released the same year. It was considered revolutionary in its time due to what was considered an extreme sound, frequently profane lyrical content and the anarchist political ideals in the lyrics. The album also saw the introduction of Crass’s policy of ensuring cheap prices for their records. This album is considered one of the first punk albums to expound serious anarchist philosophies.

The record was made when Pete Stennett, owner of Small Wonder Records, heard a demo that the band had recorded. Impressed by all of the material, he decided that rather than release a conventional single by the band, he would put all of their set onto an 18-track 12″ EP. However, problems were encountered when workers at the Irish pressing plant contracted to manufacture the record refused to handle it due to the allegedly blasphemous content of the track “Reality Asylum” (referred to as “Asylum” on the record sleeve). The record was eventually released with this track removed and replaced by two minutes of silence, retitled “The Sound of Free Speech”. This incident also prompted Crass to set up their own record label in order to retain full editorial control over their material, and “Reality Asylum” was issued shortly afterwards in a re-recorded and extended form as a 7″ single. A later repress of The Feeding of The 5000 (subtitled The Second Sitting) released on Crass records in 1980 restored the missing track.

Crass helped reinitiate the influence of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the wider peace campaign in the UK with the songs like “They’ve Got a Bomb”, “Fight War Not Wars” and the adoption of the CND Symbol at their live concerts.

“They’ve got a Bomb” also has a period of silence within it, inspired by John Cage’s “4’33”“. The band have acknowledged the influence of Cage, and said that the idea of the space in the song, when performed live, was to suddenly stop the energy, dancing and noise and allow the audience to momentarily “confront themselves” and consider the reality of nuclear war.

“The feeding of the five thousand” is a well-known phrase in Christian tradition, being the name of a Biblical miracle in which a small amount of food is said to have fed 5,000 people. According to the band’s drummer and spokesperson, Penny Rimbaud, “We named the album The Feeding of The Five Thousand because 5,000 was the minimum number that we could get pressed and some 4900 more than we thought we’d sell. Feeding is now only a few hundred short of going golden, though I don’t suppose we’ll hear too much about that in the music press”.

On 16 August 2010, The Feeding of the 5000 was rereleased as the first volume of The Crassical Collection. As well as being digitally remastered from the original analogue studio tapes, the release also contains additional artwork by Gee Vaucher, bonus material and a 64-page booklet of lyrics and liner notes by Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant.

Track listing

Side 1

1. “Asylum” – 2:06
2. “Do They Owe Us a Living?” – 1:24
3. “End Result” – 2:04
4. “They’ve Got a Bomb” – 3:48
5. “Punk is Dead” – 1:48
6. “Reject of Society” – 1:08
7. “General Bacardi” – 0:59
8. “Banned from the Roxy” – 2:14
9. “G’s Song” – 0:36

Side 2

1. “Fight War, Not Wars” – 0:42
2. “Women” – 1:15
3. “Securicor” – 2:28
4. “Sucks” – 1:38
5. “You Pay” – 1:44
6. “Angels” – 2:08
7. “What a Shame” – 1:11
8. “So What” – 3:05
9. “Well?…Do They?” – 1:32

Personnel

• Crass – producer
• Steve Ignorant – vocals
• Joy De Vivre – voices
• Eve Libertine – voices on tracks 1, 11.
• Phil Free – lead guitar, backing vocals
• N.A.Palmer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Pete Wright – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 12, 13, 14.
• Penny Rimbaud – drums, radio
• John Loder – engineer
• G (Gee Vaucher) – artwork