# Basczax

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British post-punk band

Basczax Origin Teesside, England Genres Post-punk Years active 1978 (1978)–1980 (1980), 2010 Labels Pipeline, Animated Tapes Past members Alan Savage Jeff Fogarty Mick Todd Nogel Trenchard Cog John Hodgson Alan Cornforth

**Basczax** were a British [post-punk](/source/Post-punk) band formed in [Redcar](/source/Redcar) in August 1978.[1]

## History

The band was formed by Mick Todd, who recorded a demo of "Karleearn Photography", which convinced Jeff Fogarty (saxophone) and Alan Savage (guitar, vocals) to join.[1][2] The line-up was completed for early performances by Nigel Trenchard (keyboards) and Cog (drums), but these were soon replaced by former Blitzkrieg Bop members John Hodgson (keyboards) and Alan Cornforth (drums).[1]

Starting out as an anti-[punk](/source/Punk_rock), almost anti-music noise [band](/source/Band_(music)), they supported [Gang of Four](/source/Gang_of_Four_(band)), amongst others in the early days. Basczax's first released material appeared on [Fast Product](/source/Fast_Product)'s *[Earcom 2](/source/Earcom_2%3A_Contradiction)* [mini-LP](/source/Mini-LP) in 1979, alongside [Joy Division](/source/Joy_Division).[1][2] The band also released a [7" single](/source/Single_(music)) on the Pipeline [label](/source/Record_label): "Madison Fallout"/"Auto Mekanik Destruktor" (1979), which reached #48 on the [UK Independent Chart](/source/UK_Independent_Chart).[1][2][3]

Basczax toured with [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark](/source/Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark) (OMD),[1] and appeared on the *Check It Out* TV show in 1980, performing "Ego Therapy". This lineup split in September 1980, with Hodgson and Cornforth going on to form "Makaton Chat" with ex-Deja Vu members Anthony Lindo, Graham Lipthorpe and Martin Alderdyce. John Hodgson now records under the name Fast Cakes, who released an album in August 2007 entitled *LIVEYOUNGDIEFAST*, a second album in September 2012 entitled *CALL OFF THE DOGS* and a third in 2014 entitled *LIFESTORY*. The three remaining members regrouped and continued. Eventually, after many lineup changes, the band mutated into Jank Mamba, and then [The Flaming Mussolinis](/source/The_Flaming_Mussolinis), who released two [albums](/source/Album) in the mid-1980s for [Portrait Records](/source/Portrait_Records) ([CBS](/source/CBS)).[1]

Savage went on to form a band called Zoom, then another called Disraeli Gears, and released a [solo](/source/Solo_(music)) [CD](/source/Compact_disc) in the 1990s on [Darlington](/source/Darlington)-based "Northern Sky".

A compilation of tracks recorded by Basczax between 1979 and 1980 entitled *The Best Of* was released (initially download only) in 2009 on Spectra Records.

In February 2010, four members from the 1979-80 line-up (Alan Savage, Jeff Fogarty, John Hodgson & Mick Todd) started recording together once again, with the view to releasing the first new Basczax material for almost 30 years. An album, entitled *This Machine Rocks* was released (download only) on 1 September 2010.

## Discography

### Albums

- *Terminal Madness* (1979), Animated Tapes

- *[Earcom 2: Contradiction](/source/Earcom_2%3A_Contradiction)* (1979), [Fast Product](/source/Fast_Product) – with Thursdays and [Joy Division](/source/Joy_Division)

- *This Machine Rocks* (2010), Morbius

**Compilations**

- *The Best of Basczax* (2009), Spectra

### Singles

- "Madison Fallout" (1979), Pipeline

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Ogg_1-6) Ogg, Alex (2006) *No More Heroes: a Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980*, Cherry Red Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-901447-65-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-901447-65-1), pp. 79–80

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Gimarc_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Gimarc_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Gimarc_2-2) Gimarc, George (2005) *Punk Diary*, Backbeat Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87930-848-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87930-848-6), p. 252, 272

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lazell_3-0)** Lazell, Barry (1998) *Indie Hits 1980-1989*, Cherry Red Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9517206-9-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9517206-9-4), p. 17

## External links

- [This Machine Rocks](http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/basczax)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Basczax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basczax) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basczax?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.