In August of 1980, U2 released its first Steve Lillywhite produced single , "A Day Without Me", from the forthcoming debut album b/w an instrumental called "Things To Make And Do".
Though the song predates the suicide of Joy Division's late frontman Ian Curtis, Bono tells Sounds
"'A Day Without Me' is about Ian Curtis. It's the image of death, of the landslide. You're really not that important, after death even your friends and relations will soon forget you. It's like the unimportance of the individual in terms of this world. The world doesn't care about the individual."
At the end of August 1980, The Ruts were back in the UK charts with "West One (Shine On Me)", their final recording with Malcolm Owen, who had died a month earlier of a drug overdose. The single peaked at UK#43. A secret message was scratched in the wax "And now..." flipped with "...Ruts Da Capo". The band would henceforth be known as The Ruts DC.
On July 14, 1980, just weeks after Ian Curtis's suicide, Malcolm Owen of The Ruts died at the age of 25 from a heroin overdose. The charismatic frontman with the hoarse voice had hit rock bottom earlier in the year. He had been kicked out of the band, sold all of his possessions, separated from his wife and moved in with his parents. He had just persuaded The Ruts he was ready to rejoin the band when he was found dead of an overdose in the bath at his parents' home.
For 18 months The Ruts were among the most exciting bands in the U.K. Here are 5 Ruts songs you need to know.
1. Babylon's Burning
One of the great singles from the Summer of '79, "Babylon's Burning"peaked at UK #7 while providing a soundtrack as Margaret Thatcher's anti-union, anti-immigrant, monetarist policies took effect. Appearing on the Times Square soundtrack in the US, this is far and away their best known song.
2. In a Rut
John Peel championed this song which sold 20,000 copies. Enough to be a UK #1 these days, but too few to break into the UK Top 75 in '79. Considering the fate of the singer, its chorus "If you're in a rut You gotta get out of it, out of it, out of it" resonates as much as its anti-heroin B-side "H Eyes".
3. S.U.S.
From the Ruts debut The Crack, which Henry Rollins calls "the best album ever made". The band's roadie Mannah assisted in writing "S.U.S" which deals with the vagrancy act, widely used by London's Metropolitan Police Service in the late 1970s to hassle anyone they wanted.
4. Staring At The Rude Boys
This UK #22 hit, the last before Malcolm's death, celebrates crowded night clubs, invoking a special kind of nostalgia in this day of social distancing:
The skins in the corner are staring at the bar
The rude boys are dancing to some heavy heavy ska
It's getting so hot people are dripping with sweat
The punks in the corner are speeding like a jet
5. Something That I Said
One more from The Crack. this UK#29 hit is a message to all the rude boys,"So get off your pedestal
Before you ain't got no friends no more".
On March 27, 1980 The Ruts released their UK#22 hit "Staring At The Rude Boys", a song about the crowded night club scene that invokes a special kind of nostalgia in this day of social distancing:
The skins in the corner are staring at the bar
The rude boys are dancing to some heavy heavy ska
It's getting so hot people are dripping with sweat
The punks in the corner are speeding like a jet
The single came in a sleeve that doubled as a crossword puzzle. The first to complete the puzzle and return it to Virgin Records won a night on the town with the band (they pay). Second prize is The Ruts stay at your home (you pay).
The song is another great reminder that The Ruts were one of England's best bands.
Unbeknownst to anyone at this point, The Ruts had played their last concert with front man Malcolm Owen at Plymouth Polytechnic on 26 February. His heroin addiction would soon force Owen to sell all of his possessions, separate from his wife and move in with his parents. In July he would be found dead of an overdose in the bath at his parents' home.
The single's B-side, originally titled "Love in Vein", was another Owen song about heroin. The reggae tune features the line "Don't want you in my arms no more" . A book about The Ruts shares the title.
On September 29, 1979 The Ruts released The Crack, the only studio album they ever made in their heyday. This is one of my great discoveries of 1979 and one of the finest albums to come out of the U.K. punk scene. Black Flag's Henry Rollins has often called The Crack "the best album ever made". Featuring the classic singles "Babylon's Burning" and "Something That I Said", The Crack might just blow your mind.
The Ruts were made up of musicians with chops and an eclectic taste in music. On the album you're reminded that punk and reggae bands supported each other in the early days. Recorded in three weeks at The Townhouse in London with producer Mick Glossop (Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage, Van Morrison's Into The Music), The Crack may be the best sounding album of the entire punk era.
“I think The Crack has a kind of timelessness about it, because it was really spontaneous and heartfelt and real,” drummer Dave Ruffy tells UdiscoverMusic. “The songs came out of our experiences and they’re just really good, well-crafted songs, ultimately.”
“There’s heavy subject matter in there, but those subjects are still relevant,” adds bass guitarist John "Segs" Jennings. “Look at something like ‘Jah War’. Has discrimination ended and is everybody now living in harmony? No, they aren’t. Is Babylon still burning? Too right it is. Technology may have moved on, but the social issues remain the same, so those songs are every bit as valid today.”
Listen to The Crack and you'll hear why they were dismissed by many as clones of The Clash. Listen closely enough and you'll hear why that's such an unfair assessment. The band should have been bigger but singer Malcolm Owen overdosed in the summer of 1980, before The Ruts could make a follow-up.
The album cover is well worth pouring over. It's a painting by John H. Howard that shows the band seated in the middle of the party with John Peel, Jimi Hendrix, Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible of The Damned, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Even the band's roadie Mannah (seen from the back) can be seen. He assisted in writing the song "S.U.S" which deals with the vagrancy act, widely used by London's Metropolitan Police Service in the late 1970s.
The 40 year anniversary edition was remastered at Abbey Road and celebrated below by Rollins.
On September 2, 1979 the Ruts' follow-up to "Babylon's Burning", "Something That I Said" entered the U.K. charts at #45, eight places better than the new Squeeze single, "Slap and Tickle". Both Ruts singles would appear in re-recorded forms on their debut album, The Crack, one of the best post punk albums of the year. "Give Youth a Chance" is the dub reggae tune on the B-side to "Something That I Said". Better than almost anything on Sandinista!
"Slap and Tickle" is the fourth single from Cool For Cats, another song from an album apparently celebrating the lads discovering sex.
On June 5 1979 The Ruts's new single was about to debut on the U.K. pop charts at #61. "Babylon's Burning" would be one of the great singles of the Summer of '79, peaking at U.K.#7, and providing a soundtrack as Margaret Thatcher's anti-union, anti-immigrant, monetarist policies took effect.
The Ruts started out playing free benefit gigs, working with the reggae band Misty, responding to the rise of the fascist National Front with the "Rock Against Racism" movement. The Ruts continued to sing about the same causes as reggae bands in songs like "S.U.S.", "Jah War" and "Babylon's Burning". Not that everyone thought it was right. As the single climbed the charts, the band received letters from black activists saying they should leave out all references to Babylon because only Black people can understand things like that.
After touring with The Damned, The Ruts would be offered opening slots with Thin Lizzy and Van Halen. They would turn down both.
On January 26, 1979 the People Unite label released the debut single by The Ruts, "In A Rut" b/w the anti-heroin song "H-Eyes". John Peel would champion "In A Rut" which would sell 20,000 copies. Enough to be a UK #1 these days, but too few to break into the Top 75 in '79. Its chorus "If you're in a rut
You gotta get out of it, out of it, out of it" would especially resonate a year later when Malcolm Owen was found dead in the bathroom of his parents' house in Hayes, from a heroin overdose at the age of 26.
