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1.
You look stunning in whatever you wear ,in a dress you're second to none. I fell in love with your knees that show through the holes of your battered 501’s .You can't heal the sick or put out a fire, pluck people from the sea or give a couple a child ,but at night, I dream you whisper in my ear..."Give me what I need, I can take much more". Chorus: But I'm thinking about you, thinking about you, thinking about you, all the time.I'm thinking about you, man I can't get you out of my mind. (Repeat) What the hell is wrong with the girls in this town, they're so easily annoyed. Either they're fat or they answer back, pregnant or unemployed. Well I sit in the shopping centre all day, trying to work out how the world got this way but at night I dream you whisper in my ear" give me what I need, I can take much more". Chorus. Think, think about lust, think about what it can do to a man, now think, I'm thinking too much, I'm thinking that this is not a hand, hand, HAND, Your loving eyes stare back into mine,  from the news-stands every day. Stretched out on a beach or at some glitzy affair, the Media's never far away. Your assets are huge, they cover up civil wars, you get more column inches than East Timor. You change the way in which I see this world. "give me what I need, I can take much more". Chorus.
2.
You sold your house like you sold out your friends, because it suited you They stayed out while you stayed at your workbench but they won through.  Think about it, think, about it and what it means to you, Think about it, think, about it and what they're calling you. Well it's a great struggle to get comfortable on your new three piece suite, While the bailiffs pull your neighbour’s furniture, out into the street.  Think about it, think, about it and what they think of you, Think about it, think, about it and what they're calling you, Chorus: David, you, you've got the best of both worlds now. Well, this atmosphere's not lost on your children, they know what it means. Now they lift money from their mother’s purse, to buy friendship from the kids down their street. Think about it, think, about it and what they think of you, Think about it, think, about it and what they're calling you. Chorus.
3.
Little Miss Indecision says,  I know what we can eat tonight, but she changed her mind, all over again.  Little Miss Indecision says, not that, there's too many calories, but she changed her mind, all over again.  Once again it's down to me to make the decision instead, but healthy eating is a luxury you know, of the well fed. Now, little Miss Indecision says,you know how deeply I feel for you, but she changes her mind, all over again, all over again, all over again.
4.
Do you feel, you're the brunt of a thousand jokes and does the laughter you share with your friends, sometimes stick in your throat? Do you feel, you're just a whipping post, for the fragile egos of the world’s little boys, both young and old, and... Chorus: Time after time opting for a quiet life, are you, time after time opting for a quiet life?  And I think to myself, this is something kinda critical, yeah I think to myself, this is something kinda critical, and it's wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong in principle, Yeah, it's wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong in principle.  A prejudice so convenient stays as solid as these rocks, some men are intelligent but still think with their... Do you feel, you're a prisoner in your own home, and did wedding bells soon turn to nappy smells, did you lose a career of your own? Do you feel, afraid of the ringing phone, when you lift the receiver and hear just a`click', followed by the dialling tone? Chorus. Do you feel, you've been invisible all along, and the only time they're attentive to you, is when they think, you're saying something wrong? Do you feel, the message is getting through? These disciples of this ugly humour are crucifying you. Chorus. What do you think? A prejudice so convenient stays as solid as these rocks, some men are intelligent but still think with their...
5.
Disgraceland 04:26
What has happened to community, now people have bought and sold their homes? I no longer know, who's living down my street, I keep thinking the neighbours are burglars or thieves, oh yeah, Chorus: But it was you, promised harmony, but you brutalised us all, and it was you who loved the family, but you threw them to the wall, and you, and your morality, is the sound of closing doors, and to think that we, we thought the `Seventies' was bad, in Disgraceland. Feels like the third world's come to me, like some weird package tour in reverse. All this homelessness and poverty, from one of the richest nations on earth. Chorus. We fight for all that is useless  and give our family silver away. We're an economic shambles but we still think we're great. We know the cost of virtually everything but... we know the value of nothing at all. Frustration is eating at me, I am so angry I can barely speak, that these people have the audacity, to justify just about anything. Chorus.
6.
No! No! No! 05:22
Well you've listened to the world  and all you've ever heard is,  No! No! No! No it'll never work, But they're just expressing the doubt in themselves, No! No! No! No it'll never work. Chorus: Now look, I've been down, when life has seemed impossible, but you can turn it 'round, nothing's that improbable, and you can do much more. People’s low horizons are driving you insane, No! No! No! No it'll never work, you are insecure but you're glad you're not the same. Chorus. Don't wallow in the swamp of lethargy, don't sink below that mire, for there are people down there waiting for someone, who can inspire. Well there's so much you think you can achieve, No! No! No! No it'll never work, but thinking's not enough, you know? First you must believe! Chorus.
7.
I Can Rise 03:44
Tell me, tell me, tell me, how much of this do you believe? It's a time for the gullible and my gullibility. Tell me, tell me, tell me, what did you do at home, did you wander through the conflict in Nicam Stereo? Well tell me, tell me, tell me, how do you feel? Chorus: I can rise, yes I can rise, I know that I can rise. Well I can rise, yes I can rise, I know that I can rise, above all this! Tell me, tell me, tell me, where are the voices of concern? Well under this cacophony, it's a wonder they are heard. Tell me, tell me, tell me, what will our children learn, they're no longer playing Star Wars, now the fighting's back on Earth. Well tell me, tell me, tell me, how do you feel? Chorus. Well tell me, tell me, tell me, how do I get out of this scene? The last bastion of the scoundrel, is no place for me to be. Well tell me, tell me, tell me, what are we gonna do, the one’s that cheer the loudest, have no-one there to lose, well tell me, tell me, tell me, how do you feel? Chorus.
8.
Take my advice, there are no miracles, anything that's good, has to be fought for. Now take my advice, there are no miracles, when things come easy, they easily turn sour. Take my advice, there are no miracles, we're truly in love, in love with the truth. Now take my advice, there are no miracles, the mother of all parliaments knows what’s best for you. Liberty and secrecy, they can't live side by side, how can we, pretend to be free, when we have no bill of rights.  Take my advice, there are no miracles,  it's an illusion, that things change overnight. Now take my advice, there are no miracles, from building a mass movement to, falling in love. Liberty and secrecy, they can't live side by side, how can we, pretend to be free, when we have so much to hide?  Take my advice!
9.
Well the trickle down effect is just a sham it's such a shame, shame, shame. Look a little closer, you'll see one huge dam, it's such a shame, shame, shame. Chorus: Oh yeah it's such a shame, things turned out this way, what ya gonna do about it? Well it's a shame, that you feel this way, that nothing can be done about it! Oh no, this is the real pornography. Children are sleeping on our city streets, it's such a shame, shame, shame, they get everywhere they get under your feet, it's such a shame, shame, shame. Chorus. You confess you know nothing 'bout what’s crippling this land, but then you go and vote for things that you don't understand. I feel I'm Frank Owen as I explain the plan, but you look at me as if I'm mad. Justice is a pimp fining the women of the night, it's such a shame, shame, shame, now the pressure's on the girls to do a little overtime, it's such a shame, shame, shame, Chorus.
10.
They say that travel broadens the mind but you need a little money first. I just listen to a tape of some township jive and I feel I’ve travelled the Earth. Chorus: It feels so right, sending, shivers up and down my spine, it’s alive, with the hopes and the dreams of countless lives It’s all mine, every time I press play. But the trouble is, I’m just a, a scum class tourist cause I never leave this town Give me cheap guitars and songs from the heart and a cut price studio, whether from Camden Town or Johannesburg, the truth still needs to be told. Chorus. And we gotta stop these fascists with their cultural purity. I don’t know about you,  but Morris dancing’s not for me, no, no, no, it’s not for me, that’s why I play… The tenderest forms of communication, do not need the power of speech. So while nations’ sing unto their neighbours, there’ll always be a chance for peace. Chorus.
11.
Think about the fat men who wear their slippers to drive their cars, while their machines are running, they won’t walk very far. They never realise what they've got, one day they will lose the lot because... Chorus: What’s gonna happen when the, buses don’t run? And what’s gonna happen when the, winter comes? What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? When the oil runs out. Think about the record industry, they’ve released such a lot of, self-indulgent pampered pop star’s, back catalogue. It'll be far more drastic than no-more CD plastic because... Chorus. Are you prepared, for such a drastic change in lifestyle? You say "yeah", I don’t believe you, look at your home, the things that you own, the job that you work in, they all could go. What about the tax exiles, who live in the sun? When the oil runs out, they'll have no-where to run. But what about the comfortable people, who just can’t go without? They're forever panic buying, in case things run out. They never realise what they've got,  one day they will lose the lot because... What’s gonna happen when, cycling becomes a strain  and you need a drop of 3 in 1, on your, bicycle chain. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?  When the oil runs out. Are you prepared for such a drastic change in lifestyle? You say "yeah" I don’t believe you, look at your home, the things that you own, the job that you work in, they all could go.
12.
A satellite stands motionless at a point above the Earth, where it's scything through the truth, and under the cover of a thousand stupid game shows, events are on the move. There's a build-up of washing up, lying in the sink, there's a build-up of ignorance, when people just don't think, there's a one sided bedtime story on the evening news tonight. Chorus: And the ebb and flow of history is lapping 'round their rooms as the blinds come rattling down. And they won’t notice, that something is going on round here, they won’t know, oh no they won’t notice, they won’t notice that, something is going on 'round here, oh no they won’t notice, that something is going on 'round here, they won’t know. Oh not they won’t notice, they won’t notice, that, something is going on ‘round here, yeah it’s going on ‘round here. Well I open the daily tabloid and it spits into my face, yeah they treat you with contempt, It's the modern day equivalent, of a public flogging and it's all at our expense. It's overcast in London, a depression over France, there's a storm over Gibraltar, as things start hotting up, the climate's slowly changing but the outlook looks really bad. Chorus. The radio chatters childishly to a nation on its back,  as it tries to pay the rent. It's aural wallpaper covering up the cracks, of any unified dissent.  Everyone has an opinion, everybody thinks they're right,  but few know the realities behind this bitter fight. How many nights in shining Armagh will it take to win this war?

about

Originally released in 1993 in cassette format, and briefly on Brooklyn based download site ‘Anthology’ in 2000, it has since been much sought after, originally titled ‘The Broad Church of the Indestructible Beat’ it is now named after one of it’s tracks ‘Disgraceland’, this title reflects more fully on the state of the nation as it is now

The Indestructible Beat (taking its name from the album ‘The Indestructible Beat of Soweto” on Earthworks International 1985) and along with it, the musical genre ‘Afro-punk’, was created by Steve excitement’.


“Glad I came across you!! Your music is gorgeous, power, passion, unforgettable dreamy melodies with a unique quality. . . lovely!!” (‘Urgent Fury’ Facebook comment that sums up the album very well)

"His (Steve Drewett & The Indestructible Beat) is a jagged music, the rawness of prime new wave forged with
the lilting rhythms of African dance, two seemingly impossible partners, a match made somewhere other than heaven, the results can only startle". (Folk Roots issue 21 1990)Drewett in 1990 (long before the James Spooner film ‘Afro Punk’ in 2003, that inspired the Brooklyn Festival of the same name starting in 2005.) He had just called it a day with his punk band the ‘Newtown Neurotics’ (1988, Reformed in 2005), a combo he had spent the Eighties fronting, producing eight classic singles and four classic albums. Trying to decide where to go from there, Steve avoided the formation of a Newtown Neurotics 2.0 by sticking to the original spirit of punk which demanded constant creativity, of pushing barriers, of challenging pre-conceptions. He wanted the next band he formed to be different, very different, but still within the framework of punks’ ‘concise

credits

released March 20, 2017

Steve Drewett: Guitar/lead vocals
Mac: Bass guitar/trombone/backing vocals
Sarah Ross: Vocals
Neil Tye: Percussion
Ian Bristow: Percussion
Greg Caburn: Sax/backing vocals
Adam Amore: Sax/backing vocals
Isaac Prevost: Drums
Tony Bennett: Drums

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Steve Drewett Harlow, UK

Steve Drewett is the singer songwriter and guitarist of the punk band Newtown Neurotics. The Indestructible Beat is Steve's other band which he formed in the Nineties when the Newtown Neurotics split for a while. Here he decided to mix punk with African rhythms. ... more

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