Before Adrian Borland found fame with The Sound,
he was in The Outsiders.
In 1977, I used to follow this band all over London -
man, these guys played high octane punk rock'n'roll
like their lives depended on it.
I always thought the 1st Damned album was an
Outsiders ripp off!
Adrian was my guitar god - I made a vow that one day
I would be able to play as well as him - 30 years of
trying and I am still nowhere near.
The odds were stacked against The Outsiders - Adrian
did not look "punk" - he sung with heart and passion
but did not conform to the Strummer/Lydon
shout/sneer and did not write songs about "smash the
state".
As a spotty faced kid who stumbled into this new fangled
punk rock, he would take time after gigs to show me
the latest 7" singles he had brought and give me an
update as to which albums were coming out.
This is a compilation which I have taken from the
2 albums Calling on Youth & Close Up + tracks from
the EP One to Infinity. If you want to hear a band
that has been locked in a room with only a copy of
Raw Power and a determination to outplay James
Williamson, give this a go.
I hate to use an overused cliche but I guess the good
really do die young.
