999 (band) - Reviews

Reviews

• 999's debut single, "I'm Alive", was "a headlong rush of anti 9 to 5 rebellion complete with a bruising power-pop punk guitar attack and rent-a-yob pitched-in vocals."

• "It's a three-minute Charge of the Light Brigade with all the hallmarks of 1977: the vocals are histrionic, the music embarrassingly simple, the instruments turned up to full volume and the production almost absent."

• "They produced a series of snappy singles sung with urgency - "Nasty Nasty", "Me And My Desire" and "Emergency" - which received favourable reviews but didn't sell in sufficient quantities to make the charts."

• "A ferocious live band, the group harnessed every iota of their stage performance for the studio, turning in an album that zips past at the speed of light, in a blur of chant-worthy choruses and pogo-able riffs."

• "Singer Nick Cash has a sort of affected, high pitched snarl when he wants to emphasize a point, but when the band sings straight verses or chorus parts with backing vocals they can have a nice punk pop sound that's a lot like the Boys".

• "They have also been the subject of a welter of compilations and live albums in the wake of renewed interest in punk nostalgia, but the better elements of their back catalogue argue strongly against the 'dregs of punk' tag that has hung around their necks in recent times."

• "Not until they’re all laid out in front of one, does it become apparent just how many great 45s this band had!"

• "While never gaining back their original popularity and record sales, they have for the past 30 years or so maintained a live and recording profile to become one of Britain's best loved punk acts and always a great live act."