The Outsiders - Calling on Youth LP

The Outsiders were Wimbledon's official entry into the 1977 UK punk menagerie. The line-up of Adrian Borland (vocals, guitar) (who later went on to form seminal post-punkers The Sound), 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.