CRASS – Demos 1977-79 LP

Crass formed in 1977, based around Dial House, an anarchist community near Epping, Essex, in England. They were progenitors of a militant anarcho-pacifism that became pervasive in the punk music scene (see also anarcho-punk). Whereas the Sex Pistols’ anarchism seemed to be a self-consciously nihilistic prank, Crass’s anarchism was more directly linked to the libertarian socialist or communalistic varieties of 20th century political thought. Taking literally the punk manifesto of “anyone can do it”, they combined the use of song, film, sound collage, graphics and subversion to launch a sustained and innovative critical broadside against all that they saw as a culture built on foundations of war, violence, religious hypocrisy and blind consumerism.