Posted on: February 22, 2010 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

England’s X-Ray Spex may not have garnered as much respect or attention as The Sex Pistols or The Clash, but they had their hand in influencing a generation of future punk and indie rockers, from Concrete Blonde to Le Tigre.

Recorded in 2008, the CD/DVD Live at the Roundhouse England beautifully captures the energy from this late 70’s pop-punk band, reunited after more than a decade a part.

X-Ray Spex, led by the charismatic Poly Styrene, has always been in flux. Formed in 1976 they broke up three years later only to resurface sporadically in the 90’s, so there were not a ton of songs to pick from for this live set.

Regardless, the crowd is enthusiastic and the band sounds great (Poly Styrene in particular), and they even manage to pull off two different versions of their biggest hit “Oh Bondage Up Yours!”

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Top tracks: “Oh Bondage Up Yours!” and “Germ Free Adolescents”

X-Ray Spex – Live at the Roundhouse London/CD/20 tracks/2009/Future Noise

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