Armitage Shanks

A moniker can prove remarkably persistent. After an evening of heavy drinking, the Thieving Magpies found themselves unable to forget an impromptu joke linking their identity to the Armitage Shanks brand of lavatory equipment, despite later attempts to adopt the name the Distractions instead. The association proved oddly apt for the British punk band that collaborated with Billy Childish and Thee Headcoats. Launched in 1990 under the earlier Armitage Shanks designation, the group embodied punk at its most elemental. Lacking instrumental proficiency, they substituted raw nerve for technique and attracted a devoted, if modest, audience. In addition to recording with Childish, they shared stages repeatedly with Thee Headcoats. Lineup shifts and temporary splits notwithstanding, the band issued a handful of studio and live albums plus scattered singles, among them the 1993 debut Takin' the Piss. By 2004 the Shanks remained active, having performed across continental Europe, England, and the United States while assembling two DVDs and a substantial catalog; that same year Damaged Goods issued the full-length Urinal Heap. In 2005 the quartet of Dick Scum, Rod Vomit, Vic Flange, and Dave Dirtbox maintained its touring schedule, including an autumn visit to the States.