V2 - At The Edge Of Chaos
V2 formed in March 1977 evolving from the early Manchester punk scene based around the legendary Electric Circus venue. Of the four Manchester punk bands around at the time – The Fall, Buzzcocks, V2 and Warsaw – V2 were the ones who fell to earth: ‘as subtle as flying buzz-bombs’ and destined for the same early grave.
V2 gigs were chaotic, but this was where they really made their mark. Audiences were treated to a white-faced, black-eyed, bad-skinned young band wearing Frankenstein boots, who attacked the crowd with guitars hacked into cricket bats, bombed them with flour bags and once, set them on fire with cheap flash-bombs thrown by a drunken ‘helper’. You either loved ’em or you fuckin’ hated em!
Faced with a constant lack of money/motivation and bad management the band fell to bits. Underachievement has given the band a cult status that some ‘more successful bands’ can only dream of…
This LP is limited to 500 copies and compiles both of their classic singles ‘Man In The Box’ and ‘Speed Freak’, their withdrawn third single ‘Is Anyone Out There?’ and various studio recordings that never saw the light of day, packed in a full colour cover with insert detailing the band’s history written by Mark Standley and containing many rare photos.