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After 40 years the first ever PRIVATE VICES single is finally released! PRIVATE VICES were a band based in the UK that included members of French origin. Highly active in the late 1970s playing alongside bands such as Generation X, Motorhead, The Damned, and more! This is truly a lost gem of the blistering punk rock n' roll that was oozing from the UK at the time. These two tracks have only ever appeared on the SkyDog compilation ' Les 30 Plus Grands Succès Du Punk,' but were originally intended to be released on their own. 'Total Control' was later re-recorded and released on Flickknife Records by the band Red Rage (shared member being C. Noggin). Now professionally remastered and delivered in glorious 45rpm for optimal sound quality. Thanks again to guitarist Bruno Blum for all the help with this release! Limited to 300 units and includes an 11x17" poster of their Sounds Magazine write-up from 79.
Our take: Private Vices were a late 70s UK punk band composed of French expatriates. While they never released a record during their original run as a band, these two tracks were released on 1987’s Les 30 Plus Grands Succès Du Punk compilation of vintage French punk, alongside contemporaries like Metal Urbain, the Dogs, Guilty Razors, and Gasoline. Even that compilation is a collectible record nowadays, so Splattered! Records has taken the two tracks and released them as the single that should have been. The a-side, “Total Control,” is a complete ripper. Coming from the Boys / Slaughter & the Dogs school of pop-inflected pub punk, it’s notable for featuring both a top-notch vocal and guitar hook, achieving a level of quality I’d expect from a top-tier 70s UK punk band. Had they released song as a single back then I'm sure it would have been a huge seller or it would be an expensive collectible today. The b-side is in the same style, but it doesn’t have quite the same magic. The artwork also leaves me scratching my head… it looks overtly misogynistic but maybe I’m missing something. Still, “Total Control” is as great an undiscovered 70s punk tune as you’re likely to hear in this day and age.