THE PRESS hold a special place in my heart as one of my all-time favorite Oi! groups because their singer, Andre S., was one of the first skinheads with openly socialist beliefs I ever met (back in 1988). Prior to that, I didn't know it was possible for a skinhead to hold left-wing views! (being more familiar with the usual right-wing, gaybashing knuckleheads my own age at the time). In 1988, Andr� considered himself sympathetic to the British SOCIALIST WORKERS? PARTY (no doubt due to their connection to the REDSKINS, one of his favorite bands, along with Aussie power-rock gods AC DC!). I remember him and the band getting a lot of shit for this stance, being a part of the extremely violent and reactionary NY skinhead scene of the late 80's (YDL ring a bell, anyone?!!). Frequently, right-wing knuckleheads would try and ruin their shows or attack the band members in the streets and in bars.
While the PRESS did not consider themselves an overtly political band, with songs like "Revolution Now" and their high-profile connection to the original SHARP movement it's fairly obvious where they stood! Their live shows were some of the most energetic I've ever seen, with a hundred anti-fascist skinheads singing along to every chorus (including the first SHARP benefit concert, along with the RADICTS, SKINNERBOX, the SKA-DANKS and NOBODY'S HEROES!). At 15, it blew my mind! And their only full-length record (Punks and Skins Vol. 5, a split with the RADICTS) stands as one of the most well-played and intelligent Oi! albums of all time! Every tune a working-class anthem!
Cheers to the PRESS, for their contributions to American Oi!, the 80's SHARP movement, and though they didn't mean to do it, the birth of RASH. Who knows where the skinhead scene would be without them. Nice one lads! Dan/LIFE'S A RIOT
Alright lads! So let’s talk about the reforming of the band first, how did that come about, was there any big moment for it all to come together?
When Andre passed away, Jordan reached out to past band members and friends to get together to have a drink in his honor. We started talking about getting the band together with guest singers, maybe doing some sort of record or tribute show to Andre. Soon after we were invited to play the Oi! Festival up in Montreal. We recruited our old friend, Scotti Lyons (original NY SHARP skinhead/singer for PistnBroke), to sing for us, and just like that after more then 20 years we were a band again.
For those that maybe don’t know much about the band or the history could you give us a little overview?
The Press began in the mid-1980s in New York City. We were looking to have a sound that was a bit different then most of the punk and hardcore bands playing at the time. We were heavily influenced by all the early Oi! Bands as well as Ska and reggae, which gave us a different sound and vibe that set us apart somewhat. When SHARP started up we aligned ourselves with that as we supported the message.
The 0161 Festival show will be your first ever European show, what should people be expecting?
We are real excited for this one. People can expect to hear most of the classic Press songs as well as some of the new stuff we have written together as a band.
It’s a great honour for us to be able to host your first EU show, along with fellow anti-racist skinheads The Oppressed, you’ve obviously been hugely influential for many bands across the world, how do you see the skinhead and SHARP scene at the moment?
We appreciate you guys inviting us out to play. We expect it to be a great time. It’s great to see how strong the SHARP movement is around the world and that real Oi! Music has resonated with so many people across so many different cultures. If we were even a small influence on that it is something to be proud of. I would give a lot of credit to Roddy and the Oppressed for keeping the message alive and spreading it around all these years.
We’ve seen a rise in far right activity across the world over recent years, how are things for you guys in the states currently?
Fascism is an ever encroaching force within our mainstream politics, and SHARP, AFA, and the left in general, must push back, pushing fascists to the fringe, or ideally, eradicating them all together. We don’t claim to have the answers, but we align ourselves with those involved in pushing back against this. Most of us in the band are union workers and we’ve seen first hand the struggle in maintaining what we have worked for. For those of us working jobs without that, it’s a huge problem.
Do you have any more plans for some more recordings or potentially a new album at some point?
Since reforming the band, we have released a seven inch record of all new material called “Torch” on Oi! The Boat Records, a split seven inch on Insurgence Records, and a song on a great compilation record called Northern Aggression, also on Insurgence. We hope to record more material and release something new before too long. A new full length album is something we would love to do. We also would like to release something in Europe. Time will tell if it happens.
Any other comments?
Thanks again for inviting us to play the festival. We’re looking forward to our first show across the pond. Hopefully it’s just the beginning with many more to come . I don't have the torch 7" but here are 4 other recordings that i do have for you 1989 split The Radicts - Skins 'N' Punks vol 5 1994 - Is It Any Wonder 2007 - The Complete Press 1984-1994 2018 split The Brass These pictures and flyers are from their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thepressnyc/
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