Department S - I Want

Released on Stiff Records in 1981 this was Department S third single, like what it says on the label. Originally formed as a two-tone type band, Guns For Hire, for 1 single, before morphing into Department S. A band who should have been at least as big as The Jam or The Specials their nearest Punk influenced peers and musical reference point. Always put me in mind of a Cockney The Fall as well. Three singles was it, before it all imploded. An LP was retrospectively released in 1993, two years after singer Vaughn Toulouse unfortunately died of an aids related illness in 1991. Prior to the band forming, he had been one of the early Clash roadies. Deserve to be heard this lot.

Department S - I Want
Department S - Monte Carlo Or Bust