Raw Deal : 16 ‘New Wave’ tracks recorded in 1977, pressed from the RAW Tapes (Damaged Goods)

A long time ago, Cambridge had a very cool punk record label called Raw Records which was based at 48 King Street and put out tracks by the likes of The Users, Killjoys, Lockjaw and The Unwanted, who later went on to provide members for bands including The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, UK Subs and Dexys Midnight Runners. Such was the success of their releases that they all quickly sold out, their first 7” shifting 20,000!! The singles all quickly became collector’s items, so this compilation was put out at the end of 1977, retailing for £2.49! Damaged Goods, a label which has stuck true to the punk ideal, have re-issued the record on CD and limited vinyl, and added 4 extra tracks, and it still sounds fresh today. Coming from the very early days of punk before it was stylised and sanitised and sold back to us at a great profit by big record companies and media manipulators, this collection sounds as vital and exciting as it must have 26 years ago; in fact I’d be delighted to stumble on most of the bands in a pub backroom today. This compilation is great for revealing not just some of Cambridge’s lesser known history but also showing the wealth of talent bubbling under even the most sedate of cities.