Protex Redux

Protex were one of the NI bands who grabbed a yard from the punk scene and rode it onwards for a mile or two. Their debut single was 'Don't Ring Me Up', on the Good Vibes label and it was perfect for the age. Schoolkids with guitars, Aidan Murtagh's fluttering vocals and some old Chuck Berry / Johnny Thunders licks, delivered briskly.

Pretty soon they had signed to Polydor Records and were managed by Mary Carol Canon. Apparently she had a connection to Mainman management, who looked after Bowie and Iggy. Given that Owen, Dave and Paul from the band were a year ahead of me at school, this was all quite inspirational. I remember being in the alleyway of the Pound music club in Belfast one night and their manager was talking about upcoming dates and how they needed to plan for the really big stuff. She was comparing Protex to The Beatles. Astounding.

Sadly, it didn't work out, as the band seemed to be lost between pop music and more credible places and were pushed just a little too energetically by the label. There was a series of neat singles, but their album, recorded over the winter of '79-80, was never officially released. Luckily, I had a third generation cassette of the tracks, and it sustained me well.

Now there is a physical release, via Sing Sing Records in New York. The packaging is great and while the music sounds rough in places, there's still a vital element there, particularly on 'Strange Obsessions', the track. It's the account of a midnight creeper and will be forever associated with the punk film, Shell Shock Rock, which used it to soundtrack the horrendous gloom of Royal Avenue on a winter day, during the Troubles. There's an eternal place in my heart for all this.