Cherry Red releases two albums by The outsiders : Calling on Youth and Close Up.
The Outsiders were Wimbledon's official entry into the 1977 UK punk menagerie. The line-up of Adrian Borland (vocals, guitar), Bob Lawrence (bass), and Adrian Janes (aka Jan - drums) had in fact been playing together for a few years before punk took off. Citing the Velvet Underground as their main influence, The Outsiders was a classic example of an existing band that, through the explosion of punk, managed to elevate themselves to a higher level, there by securing more gigs and even getting records released.The band's music is rooted in classic rock and roll, but served with adequate amounts of speed and attitude to fully warrant the use of the punk rock tag.
Quite uncommonly for the times, The Outsiders’ first release was not a 7", but an album. Financed in large by Adrian Borland’s parents, the LP "Calling On Youth" was released in 1,000 copies on The Outsiders’ own Raw Edge label in May of 1977 (some of the album’s recordings date back to 1976). The music is produced as well as mixed by the band and the cover is designed by Adrian Borland. The LP has the honour of being the very first DIY-released punk album by a UK group. Musically, it is a sprawling affair with everything from acoustic takes to harder edged punk rock.
Then finally in November came the group’s first 7" and The Outsiders transformation into a 100% punk band was now in place. There is no acoustic guitars or extended solos in ear-sight on the "One To Infinity" 7" EP. This cataclysmically great and underrated EP (included here) contains four razor cuts deploying a catchy buzzsaw punk sound in the vein of The Saints. By all factors, this 4-tracker is a vintage 1977 punk record.
For the first time this record has been released on CD and comes with full endorsement from the Borland estate and new extensive notes by Brittle Heaven’s Rients Bootsma as well as being re-mastered with the help of Robert Borland
