THE KLINGONS - 1979 EP

The Klingons originated in the Hildenborough/Tonbridge area of Kent during September 1978. Existing for less than a year, they spanned the dying embers of the first wave of Punk and the so-called Post-Punk era that followed. In the standard Icarus-like trajectory of a thousand teenage bands that formed in the wake of Punk, they managed five gigs and one demo before burning out as swiftly as they alighted, prey to the familiar hazards and pitfalls that bedevilled all but a handful of their peers: lack of money, the immaturity and impulsiveness of youth, lack of exposure, inexperience, gig violence, distraction and the general chaos of what were, in retrospect, heady days where time and fashion moved at an accelerated rate (pick any two or three of the above during your middle-aged reflection).

Arising from the ashes of the wonderfully-named Baader-Meinhof (of Sevenoaks), The Klingons (the “of Hildenborough” distinguishes them from the host of similarly-named bands that followed) dashed off these four tracks in a local 8-track studio during April 1979. Sadly, other notable numbers like “Kirk Is A Jerk” and “Laser Beam” are lost to posterity, but the tracks preserved show an infectious, DIY scrappiness that conjures up The Swell Maps. Less developed than the latter but tighter than the TV Personalities, “Terminal” and “Cold Love” are de rigeur short, sharp punkers, whilst “Influence”, a fashionably-bored sounding vocal intoned over a postpunk drone, and the anthemic, catchy “Manners In Trains” show just what might have been had the band not imploded a mere three months later. As it is, this is what we’re left with, a time capsule of five gigs, one demo and implosion, all within eleven months

300 vinyl copies. Picture sleeve, 4-page insert.

Inflammable Material Records, BURN033