Basement 5

Basement 5 were a reggae punk fusion band from London founded in 1978. Their first vocalist was Winston Fergus, then Don Letts. One of their early performances was a support for Public Image Ltd.'s London debut at the Rainbow on Christmas Day 1978. Their songs reflected the political situation of the time in Great Britain in the era of Margaret Thatcher: youth unemployment, strikes, racism and the poverty of the working class.
In 1980 they got signed to Island Records with vocalist Dennis Morris. They recorded their début album, 1965-1980, with record producer Martin Hannett, releasing it on 11 August. The sessions also yielded dub versions of several of the main tracks, released on 31 October as In Dub. "Last White Christmas" was released in time for Christmas (1 December), as a 12" and 7" (the latter in Christmas wrapping paper with a silver sticker of the band logo). The band broke up shortly thereafter, with several members forming Urban Shakedown.
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== Links To Peel ==
Basement 5 recorded their only Peel session the month before releasing debut 45 ‘Silicone Chip’, which was played multiple times on his shows. The DJ gave generous airtime to the band's singles, especially the ‘In Dub’ 12” and the seasonally themed ‘Last White Christmas’, but appeared to pay less attention to their only album, according to available show tracklistings on this site, although this was heard relatively frequently on his BFBS programmes.
Peel is known to have tried to see Basement 5 live in London in July 1980, but he missed their set (and came away impressed with support act Delta 5).
In January 2023, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker picked 'Paranoiaclaustrophobia Dub' from the 'In Dub" 12" to play from Peel's Record Collection for the BBC Radio 6 Music show The Collection (Peel Acres). 
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None.
== Sessions ==
*One session. No known commercial release.
1. Recorded 1980-04-21. First broadcast: 28 April 1980. Repeated: 22 May 1980, 05 August 1980.
*Immigration / Last White Christmas / Silicon Chip / No Ball Games
== Other Shows Played ==
;1980
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*21 May 1980: Silicone Chip (7”) Island
*24 May 1980 (BFBS): Silicon Chip (10") Island
*03 June 1980: Silicone Chip (10") Island
*07 July 1980: (Peel had gone along to a Basement 5 gig in London on the night of Friday 4th July, but didn't manage to see them.)- Silicon Chip (7") Island
*27 October 1980: Games Dub (12" - In Dub) Island
*01 November 1980 (BFBS): Paranoiaclaustrophobia Dub (12" - In Dub) Island
*08 December 1980: Last White Christmas (7") Island
*13 December 1980 (BFBS): Last White Christmas (single) Island
*27 December 1980 (BFBS): The Last White Christmas (7") Island
;1981
*01 January 1981: Last White Christmas (7") Island
*19 January 1981: Last White Christmas (album - 1965-1980) Island
*05 February 1981 (BFBS): Ball Games (album - 1965-1980) Island
*08 February 1981 (BFBS): Heavy Traffic (album - 1965-1980) Island
*28 June 1981 (BFBS): Heavy Traffic (album - 1965-1980) Island
*01 November 1981 (BFBS): Silicon Chip (single) Island
;1983
*20 March 1983 (BFBS): Silicon Chip (album - 1965-1980) Island
*20 March 1983 (BFBS): Last White Christmas (album - 1965-1980) Island
;1984
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*14 January 1984 (BFBS): Silicon Chip (10") Island
;1997
*10 December 1997: Last White Christmas (7") Island
;Other
*The Collection (Peel Acres - Jarvis Cocker): Paranoiaclaustrophobia Dub (12" [white label] - In Dub) Island Records
== See Also ==
*Gigography 1980
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists