Unpopular Yawns of Middle Class Warfare (demo)

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Unpopular Yawns of Middle Class Warfare
Studio album (Demo) by Napalm Death
Released 1983
Recorded 1983
Genre Crust punk
Grindcore
Length 33:04
Napalm Death chronology
Kak
(1983)
Unpopular Yawns of Middle Class Warfare
(1983)
Hatred Surge
(1985)

Unpopular Yawns of Middle Class Warfare is the 4th demo recording by the group Napalm Death.

The recording was made in Knowle (near Birmingham) on 14 May 1983 as a live recording (with no overdubs) on to a 2-track recorder. It was the last demo recording made by the 'original period' line-up of Napalm Death.

The line-up for the recording was:

  • Nik Napalm (Nicholas Bullen) - Vocals
  • Robbo (Graham Robertson) - Guitar
  • Fin (Finbarr Quinn) - Bass / Backing Vocals
  • Rat (Miles Ratledge) - Drums

The cassette never received an 'official' release: it was sent to friends of the band but never sold.

The title of the recording (created by Miles Ratledge) is a parody of the slogan 'Popular Yarns of Class Warfare' utilised by various extremist Anarchist groups in the early 1980s.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "System's Scapegoat" (Music & Lyrics: Bullen)
  2. "Blame" (Music: Quinn / Lyrics: Bullen)
  3. "Screaming Pain - Pt.2" (Music: Robertson / Lyrics: Ratledge & Bullen)
  4. "Untitled (aka Fin's Song)" (Music: Quinn)
  5. "The Crucifixion of Possessions" (Music & Lyrics: Bullen)
  6. "Caught in a Dream" (Music: Napalm Death / Lyrics: Ratledge & Bullen)

'Blame' features lead vocals by Fin (Finbarr Quinn): this is the only recording where Fin provides lead vocals for this song.

'Screaming Pain - Pt.2' is a re-worked version of a song which Napalm Death had played in their original line-up in early 1982.

'Untitled (Fin's Song)' is an instrumental. Napalm Death played a number of instrumentals in their early years.

'The Crucifixion of Possessions' is the recording which was used by the Anarchist group Crass on Volume 3 of their 'Bullshit Detector' compilation album series in 1984. The original version featured on this recording contains an introductory section which was removed for the release on Crass Records due to time constraints.

'Caught in a Dream' is the original version of the song later recorded by Napalm Death for use on the album Scum. It features different music and an earlier version of the lyrics. The lyrical content of the song is inspired by the Situationist analysis of the 'Society of the Spectacle'.