GBH

Born in Birmingham in the late 1970s, GBH was part of the British punk wave that emerged after 1977, with a harder, faster and more abrasive sound than many of its contemporaries. Formed around Colin Abrahall on vocals, Colin 'Jock' Blyth on guitar, Andrew 'Wilf' Williams on drums and, after an initial lineup change, Ross Lomas on bass, the band first gained recognition under the name Charged GBH, in reference to the British legal term 'grievous bodily harm'. GBH emerged in the early 1980s on the street punk and UK82 scene with a direct, tense and often provocative aesthetic, where the energy of punk blends with heavy metal accents that would come to mark hardcore and thrash. After the Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne EP in 1981, GBH released City Baby Attacked by Rats in 1982 and City Baby’s Revenge in 1983, two records quickly associated with the evolution of English punk of that period. The band remained active in the following decades despite several drummer changes, notably with Kai Reder then Scott Preece, and continued touring and recording with Midnight Madness and Beyond in 1986, No Need to Panic in 1987, A Fridge Too Far in 1989, Perfume and Piss in 2010 and Momentum in 2017. GBH has circulated on both punk stages and in contexts closer to hardcore and metal; their influence regularly mentioned by musicians from these two spheres.