Cyanide

My original entry for Cyanide from way back in 2000 read “Great name. Not so great band. Check out I’m a Boy / Do It (1978 Pye) and Mac The Flash / Hate The State (1978 Pye) if you must.”

Many years have elapsed since my above risible summary of the band. The fact of the matter is there was so much more to them (and the whole York punk scene) and some pretty good tunes. They are also missed out of books like George Gimarc’s excellent Punk trainspotter compendium Punk Diary.

Like most punk bands they didn’t start off that way and had some typical influences in liking Dr Feelgood and the Heavy Metal Kids. In 1976 they could be found playing AC/DC (I’m convinced they got their names from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap which they used to cover), ZZ Top & UFO covers alongside their own songs. Bob was originally on bass and vocals but found he was restricted in his singing so became the singer and frontman.

But upon hearing the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK, they saw the light and embraced punk full on with a band that they could identify with. Cyanide was the first York punk band to play and were an incredibly popular draw on the emerging York punk scene with a high energy and colorful punk look in their own graffitied and decollage home made punk clothes. Nev Astley was there at the time and managed to capture the vibrant punk scene in York and his pictures of the punks and bands who played there are the best and most evocative we’ve seen since Derek Ridgers Roxy Club/Punk photos.

PUNK YORK 1977 – Photos Nev Astley

It also meant they got some great supports to bands like Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, The Jam (Weller insulted some girls and Bob De Vries held him up by the neck until he apologised), UK Subs, Chelsea and many more at the York Assembly Halls, Cats Whiskers, Grobs (Grob & Duckett) and the seedy dark Munster Bar Cellar which hosted strippers mid week.

Bob de Vries (bit of a Jack Black lookalike) was, in particular, a fantastic frontman and his performances featured his infamous stuffed ferret that he would bring out during Mac The Flash where he wore a cloth cap and flasher Mac which when opened revealed porn pages stuck inside his coat and er well an erect ferret which apparently was real and stuffed by a taxidermist friend of the band. As the picture shows it was guaranteed to get a reaction because it was fucking horrific! Euston Arch (Hugh Bernays) was their first manager who got them gigs and arranged the recording of 2 tracks Mac The Flash and No Progress at the local Pollen Studios who were going to release them as a single. The deal with Pye scuppered both the single and his management role. He also became involved with York’s second most famous punk band The Jermz, but that’s another story!

Euston Arch (Hugh Bernays) We used to say that Elvis Presley was America’s Bob de Vries, and certainly Bob was a vocational performer with an unlimited commitment to holding your attention but there was also Jock Marston on bass – the extraordinary foil to Bob’s domineering stage presence with his own answering vocabulary of vicious stop-frame moves and terrifying facial expressions all relayed by the unstoppable punch of their beat. Joy Division Central

The incredible looking Jock and Bob one of the crowd at Grobs – Photo Credits Nev Astley

Any punk band worth its salt would make its way to The Roxy Club and Cyanide were no different appearing with those loveable soon to become funsters Skrewdriver. With this higher profile, they secured a major deal with Pye who actually came up to York to sign them. However, they also lost Jock on bass who was a key member and didn’t want to leave York. He formed the incredibly influential Sema 4 who true to his word only gigged and recorded around York.

To be clear though Pye were not a major label. Like Decca… they WERE back when you used to light gaslight on the street. Now well to of touch with music, signing Cyanide was them dipping into punk waters. They had also signed Dead Fingers Talk and er The Fabulous Poodles. Dead Fingers Talk got Mick Ronson as producer for their album and then Steve Lillywhite. The fabulous Poodles got John Entwhistle from The Who. Cyanide got Ron O’Shea. Ron had produced a number of records for The Carvells who were a Beach Boy sounding whose set list of songs were all about skateboarding!

On the day of recording they met Des O’Connor recording his new album, Jim Henson mixing his latest muppet album and their photographer had just done a Brotherhood of Man photo shoot.

In short Pye didn’t know what to do with them but the band did get an album out which not many punk bands were able to though a minus was the production was so weak.

Fabulous mini-documentary on the band. I’m not sure I’ve seen a better one

Pye didn’t take up the option for another album. RCA liked the band but wasn’t interested in Bob. There were some lineup changes and they signed to Pinnacle for one more single that did nothing before they lost drummer Steve Roberts to the UK Subs and called it a day.

There’s plenty of heartache there. Jock died in a horrific car crash aged 30 with his wife and baby daughter, Bob died in 2005. Steve Roberts died October 8th, 2022 by suicide, aged 68.

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