Doctors Of Madness: Perfect Past - The Complete Doctors Of Madness, 3CD

Doctors Of Madness were the missing link between Bowie and the Sex Pistols. Formed in 1974, they were too early for punk but their music was abrasive, angular and uncompromising. Members of The Adverts, The Damned, Penetration and The Skids were in their audiences. The Sex Pistols were their support band. After they split in 1978, Doctors Of Madness were tagged “punk before punk”: as author Simon Reynolds put it in his 2016 book Shock And Awe: Glam Rock And Its Legacy.

Perfect Past: The Complete Doctors Of Madness is the first ever all-inclusive anthology of this important British band. Over three discs, their three albums – Disc One: Late Night Movies, All Night Brainstorms (March 1976); Disc Two : Figments Of Emancipation (October 1976); Disc Three: Sons Of Survival (March 1978) – are supplemented with never-before-heard recordings from June 1975 and late 1976, along with live recordings of songs they never tackled in the studio, including those with The Adverts’ TV Smith, and a prospective 1978 single made with The Damned’s David Vanian on vocals. All tracks are newly remastered.

In-depth liner notes by MOJO magazine’s Kieron Tyler, the author of Damned biography Smashing It Up: A Decade Of Chaos With The Damned, draw on exclusive new interviews with the band’s charismatic, outspoken frontman and songwriter Richard Strange and their violin/guitar player Urban Blitz.

Presented in a clam shell box, including LP facsimile wallets, and a fully illustrated booklet featuring illustrations from Richard Strange’s personal archives.

The band-approved Perfect Past: The Complete Doctors Of Madness is the last word on Doctors Of Madness and essential for anyone with any interest in British rock and how punk evolved. Watch out for reunion shows in 2017.