Often when I select a band name to feature on Namesakes, I do so thinking: "That'll be a nice short one. Probably only two or three and I'll be done." And then the floodgates open.
I predict a riot...
RIOT SQUAD #1
London-based Riot Squad who were kicking around in the mid-60s and managed to rope in a certain young David Jones (aka Bowie) to sing with them for a while in 1967. They covered The Velvet Underground's Waiting For My Man and also recorded this Bowie original... which owes quite a debt to the Velvets itself.
The Riot Squad - Little Toy Soldier
RIOT SQUAD #2
Meanwhile over in Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, around the same time Bowie was rioting through London Town, these nattily dressed young gentlemen were throwing back to the 50s. They also did a cover of Ferry 'Cross The Mersey which I chose not to go looking for.
Riot Squad - Come On, Let's Go
RIOT SQUAD #3
UK-based ska band from the late 70s / early 80s. Eventually they stopped rioting and just became The Squad.
RIOT SQUAD #4
Mansfield punks active between '81 and '84, reunited in 2003 under the law that states all old bands (except The Smiths) must get back together in the 21st Century. They have a sentiment that never goes out of date though...
Wonder what they make of Reform?
RIOT SQUAD #5
Cape Town punks, making noise around the same time as the guys above... so eventually they changed their name to Riot Squad South Africa to avoid confusion.
RIOT SQUAD #6
"One of the hottest and most popular reggae bands in South Florida" when this video was recorded, sometime around 1989. What the hell is going on?
Riot Squad - What the Hell Is Going On?
RIOT SQUAD #7
Texas punks from the 90s who eventually changed their name to The Staggers.
RIOT SQUAD #8
Spanish Oi! band from the early 21st century...
Riot Squad - Street Rock n Roll
RIOT SQUAD #9
Belgian punks from around the same time...
Riot Squad - Another Heartbreak
RIOT SQUAD #10
New Jersey punk-metal hip-hopper Rob Gee and his mates, circa 2014.
In case you're wondering, this "unique blend of Metal and Hardcore makes this track stand out like no others before it". I do like a nice bit of gratuitous hyperbole... even if it does make me rather anxious.
RIOT SQUAD #11
Also possibly known as Brian Setzer's Riot Squad... or maybe it was just another Setzer solo project that discogs seems to have given a "Riot Squad" label to in 2014. It's hard to tell sometimes.
RIOT SQUID #12
Believe it or not, I'm trying to get more selective with this feature, and weed out some of the chaff to save us all a lot of bother. So there were plenty more Riot Squads I threw out this week. But I couldn't resist finishing with these guys, even though they won't get past George... from 2026. What a great year that was, eh?
Which ones are a Riot? And which ones are just Rot?
