Cult Scottish post-punks THE PRATS have a new compilation album out next month, and they're trailing it with a video which they're premiering exclusively with Vive Le Rock!
Aged just 12-14 when they formed, the Edinburgh quartet earned a strong local following, making their vinyl debut on the Fast Product compilation Earcom 1 in 1979. This led to their debut single 'Die Todten Reyten Schnell' for Da Da Records and the 1990's Pop E.P. - featuring the track 'Disco Pope', a US college radio favourite - and 'General Davis' single for Rough Trade.
The band received a belated profile boost in 2004 when 'General Davis' was used in the Hollywood remake of The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. Their career is now the subject of a documentary Poxy Pop Groups – The Story of The Prats by independent filmmaker Angus McPake, due out later this year.
The album Prats Way Up High features the band's three 7-inches plus demos and a previously unreleased John Peel session from '79, regarded by the maestro as one of his favourites.
The release is dedicated to the band's bassist Jeff Maguire who passed away in July of this year. The band say, “Jeff was always involved in the band – we used words like roadie and manager initially to describe his role although the reality is that we had very little idea what either of those meant! Jeff was great at engaging with people – a talent he displayed throughout his life and he had no problem collaring the great and the good of the local music scene, getting us gigs, support slots, interviews in fanzines etc. He eventually joined the band on bass and played on all three singles.
"After the Prats, Jeff played in local bands, went to university, studied and taught languages, here and in Spain and then worked as a civil servant for the Scottish Government where he was a highly regarded colleague, known for his ability to relate to and get on with pretty much everyone. He had a wide range of passions including punk, post-punk and classical music; football (he was an avid Hibernian fan); cycling, wine and lots more. He was also a husband and a father, married to Celine and the proud dad of Serena.
"Somebody came up with a title for a short piece which Jeff did on his experience in the band for a tape magazine in 1980. It was simply ‘The Joy of Being Jeff’. The expression was used several times at his funeral to sum up a life which was lived well and to the full but which ended way too early.”
Prats Way Up High is set for release on 13 November through One Little Independent Records. It's available to pre-order here.
Check out the video for 'Disco Pope'...