Peter And The Test Tube Babies: Banned From The Pubs 7"

Bad Habit and Vinnies bring you an Australian re issue of the first Peter and the Test Babies 7"

What can be said about this absolute punk classic? One of the greatest punk songs ever.

Limited press in a pocket style sleeve similar to the original with a revised back cover using some unseen photos of the band from 1979. Centre label art pays tribute to the Musicworld label, the budget New Zealand label that licensed a bunch of classic UK82 style records. True heads know.

Our take: Australia’s Bad Habit Records gives us a no-frills reissue of Peter & the Test Tube Babies’ first single. Originally released on No Future Records in 1982, “Banned from the Pubs” stands out as one of the strongest releases in a label catalog packed with all-time classics. This single flips the typical UK82 single script, putting the two rippers on the a-side and relegating the mid-paced, more tuneful “Peacehaven Wild Kids” to the b-side. But how are you not gonna put “Banned from the Pubs” as the lead track? It takes the big riffing and catchy choruses of Sham 69 and rips through them at a tempo that keeps pace with the emerging US hardcore scene. The other a-side track, “Moped Lads,” is similarly brisk and has a great chorus hook, and while “Peacehaven Wild Kids” is a solid song, Peter & the Test Tube babies would really perfect mid-paced melodic punk on their excellent 1983 album The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs. This single is great ammo for your punk DJ night or an evening spent home alone with a stack of classic 45s, and if you don’t have an original, this repro fills the gap just fine.