RAPED Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The first ever US pressing of the recordings from infamous short-lived homegrown London punks Raped (before their new wave rebranding as Cuddly Toys). Deemed unsignable during their brief tenure and maligned by even their peers within the scene due to their envelope pushing subject matter boasting EP titles such as Pretty Paedophiles, and, Cheap Night Out, released in 1977/1978 respectively, it's a relatively known unknown as to why the band were perceived as too much for even the burgeoning UK punk movement. Distributing their releases through their manager's label, good sales and a cult following couldn't compete with the endless vitriol their mission statement absorbed, ultimately leading to their reformation as the New Romantic scene evoking Cuddly Toys in 1980; a name likely stemming from being the utter antithesis of their previous moniker. The Escalator Hater compilation also completes the entirety of their 77-78 recorded output with the Philes & Smiles Demos Sessions 7", making for an uncompromised batch of snot-nosed, snarling glam-tinted blueprint punk.