Freaks union are a
punk rock band from
Hull,
England. Their story isn't simple, they've been around since
1997 but they haven't always been playing. In 1999 they had a seperation, shortly after the recording of their first split LP with
Whizzwood. People often ask what the reason of their split was but the truth is no one really knows. The band got to a point, like many bands, where it was no longer fun so they went off and did their own thing. That was when Jimbo and Stew joined 'The Dead Pets' which was where they were to meet Lee, who was to become a part of Freaks in time to come. Two of Freaks old songs,
Ignorance and
Ska face, can be downloaded for your pleasure here:
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/98/freaks_union.html
"They play old school punk rock very, very well. I'd compare them to Rancid and Operation Ivy because of their mixture of punk rock and ska. During their set the moshpit was in full swing and everybody was going crazy."
In 2000 Jimbo decided that he would like to give Freaks another go, they were good at a time and he hoped that they could be again. His dream was about to come true. To make Freaks work Jimbo needed a new drummer and guitarist so he set about finding two people perfect for the job. Step in friend Lee - who was previously in a band with Jimbo and Stew known as The Dead Pets - to be on guitar. And, with help, Jimbo got in touch with a new, talented Drummer called Jamie and asked him to join the line up. Freaks were ready to start a fresh, new line up, new music... a new start for them.
The bands first line up was Jimbo on guitar and vocals, Stew on Bass and vocals, Pat on drums and Tommy on guitar. The band set about recording their first LP with Whizzwood, this was to be called 'Ever glad you were dead.' Then shortly after recording the band grew to an unexpected halt with all the band members doing their own thing. The LP wasn't actually released until 2001, when the line up had changed with only brothers Jimbo and Stew still in the band. People were wary, could the band ever be the same again? Only time would tell.
The guys practised with this new line up for a number of weeks. They wrote new riffs, played some old songs to bring back memories and they tried to make a go of it but they all agreed something was just not right. Then, a week before Freaks' comeback at local club, Aldelphi, Greg made his presence known. He would like to join the band, he loved the old version and would like to make the new version even better. Coming from sucessful Hull band's such as 'Mike Ward Allstars' and 'Kenny' the other guys immediatly knew he was right and that he would 'make' the band. Things suddenly fell into place, Jimbo no longer needed to play guitar so it gave him chance to shine as the frontman of Freaks. To give themselves stage presence.
Shortly before the new Freaks first gig came the release of split LP 'Ever glad you were dead.' This threw people. Old people, old music but new LP. What was going on? That was nothing in the grand scheme of things, everyone loved the LP and this made them keener to see the new Freaks, people were hooked.
"This band fucking rock! Enough said!"
Their first gig went well, more followed along with
good reviews and even
better crowds. They were definatly on their way. After writing new material they decided to record, thier first recording with the new line up, the album was to be called '
The beginning of the end' and in
March 2002 it was released to many good reviews and good selling too. The beginnning of the end was produced by '
Town Clock Records'. You can get in touch with the the record producer at the following address:
Town Clock Records,
39 Station Road, Thirsk
YO7 1QH
England.
'The beginning of the end' can be bought from
http;//interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=54473& for $6.75. And, to make things better for Freaks they have started to tour getting gigs suporting none other than:
Capdown,
Strike Anywhere and
Rancid.
The beginning of the end tracks are:
- Wake Up
- The Worst Out of You
- Demons Won't Die
- All You Know
- Hiding in the Shadows
- Same Mistakes
- Direction and Rejection
- Face Don't Fit
- Out of Time
- Wishing the World Away
- Time to Stand
With quotes, information and help from:
http://mp3.com
http://boneyard.com
http://punktastic.co.uk
http://hullpunk.cjb.net
http://freaksunion.cjb.net
http://interpunk.com
The official Freaks Union site can now be found at: http://freaksunion.com