Bored of new town life and inspired by the first wave of punk, Steve Drewett, Colin Dredd and Tiggy Barber (later Simon Lomond) formed the Newtown Neurotics.
Kick Out is the story of that journey, from the concrete slabs of Harlow, Essex, to the bombed-out streets of East Germany. Along with the likes of Billy Bragg and Attila the Stockbroker, the band became the voice of the disenfranchised and the social conscience of a country in flux.
The aim of Kick Out is to capture the essence of the time, explore the events which molded the band's worldview and examine their place in British music history.
In 1977, Punk shook us violently by our shoulders and bellowed ‘NOW!’ or never. At this point, a crossroads appeared and without selling our souls to the devil, we burst into life and became the Newtown Neurotics and followed the road to the left. As a band we have been stupidly wealthy in a country that no longer exists; then went home to be cleverly poor in a Kingdom that may soon, no longer exist. We have appeared on television in a country that earlier in the day had thrown me out. We have been threatened by racists and yet, through our music, taught some of them to turn to love, from hate. We have had violence perpetrated upon us but have been more than protected by the devotion of our fans. We have lived and laughed and lost good friends, yet all the time tried to warn anyone that would listen that we, as a country, as a world, we're heading for disaster.
The current political crisis in the west was predicted by us and others as far back as 1980 as we added a socialist slant to our songs. From that point on we pleaded that people wake up to the slowly unfolding nightmare that has now produced Brexit and Trump. In 1982 we released our third single ‘Kick Out The Tories’ which immediately slammed whatever doors may have been open to us firmly shut, but that didn’t stop us because we believed that music was only worth making if it was lived, heart and soul. Listening to music can be very enjoyable but rarely is it inspirational. This was the high bar we aimed for, rather than the top of charts. In the process, we traveled the world to discover new friends and fans who confessed that our music changed their lives.
Our journey has been shared by Phill Jupitus, Billy Bragg, Steve Lamacq, among many other musicians and journalists. The ideological war against the poor and the working class has led us to the crisis of capitalism we all witness today. If it is true that you need to walk a mile in a person’s shoes to really know them, then it is equally relevant that you need to watch an hour or more of a bands documentary to truly understand them too.
I am extremely excited to be involved with Luke Baker to tell this tale of rock ‘n’ roll madness and the fight for Freedom, Equality, and Respect. I have a very high opinion of his previous work and believe that together we can tell a fascinating and unique tale. Don’t take things lying down, take them standing up, Kick Out and kick back. This is a tale of forty years refusing to lie down whilst making music to lift us all up. We are still here, still fighting back! The future is still to be made, please help make it by donating to this Kickstarter project. Democracy needs you! The Newtown Neurotics need you! Let’s make this thing!