The Kronstadt Uprising were a Punk / R'N'R band from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England that existed between 1981 - 1987. The band evolved from drummer Steve Pegrums earlier Bleeding Pyles outfit and in late 1981 the Kronstadt Uprising was born. During the Kronstadt's turbulent six year lifespan, many members came and went, contributing in part to the bands ever evolving musical maelstrom. Over the period, the band released a track on the now legendary Crass Records compilation LP "Bullshit Detector Volume 2" (1982), followed by a four track EP on Spiderleg Records titled 'The Unknown Revolution" (1983) and finally a single "Part of the Game" (1985) on Dog Rock Records. Numerous unreleased demo recordings were also undertaken by the band, their final being recorded in 1986. To understand the Kronstadt Uprising, it is important to know of their roots, and the circumstances which brought them together.

Being a firm believer and adherent of Punk Rock, Drummer Steve Pegrum, encouraged by the self-empowerment message of the movement, got a Drum kit in 1979 and immediately set about trying to put together a band, made up initially of school friends. This early band, became known as Cut Throat (Steve) and the Razors. Apart from a few solid thrashes through Punk covers and some original material, the band eventually fell apart. A few months later, in early 1980, again with school friends, Steve set about putting a new band together, The Bleeding Pyles. Now they could all vaguely play, the band started playing mainly original material, but unfortunately, as is the nature of such garage bands, after a few months this outfit also crumbled. However, on the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend Riots, that had been ensuing since about 1979 (primarily between Punk and Skinheads Vs Teddy Boys/Rockers) Steve met Spencer Blake, a fellow Southend area Punk, and recognising each others complete fanaticism for Punk Rock, the duo set about forming a new band, although initially they kept the name Bleeding Pyles.

Many local punk musicians passed through the bands ranks, and with the vaguely stable line-up of Lee Lobb - Vocals, Spencer Blake - Guitar, Spiderman - Bass and Steve Pegrum - Drums, the band regularly rehearsed amidst the somewhat chaotic environs of Daves Rehearsal Studio, Southend. They even played a couple of gigs at the Focus Youth Centre, in Downtown Southend, on the 15/8/80 and 11/1/81. Although hugely enjoyable and a living embodiment of the DIY Punk Ethic, it became apparent that the band wasn't really going to get anywhere, so as was the case with the previous line ups, the band split. However, Spencer, now moving to Vocals, knew a guitarist called Paul Lawson, and together with Mick Grant, a Bassist recruited from an add in a local music shop, and Steve on Drums, they formed a new (and final) version of The Bleeding Pyles.

It was now Spring 1981 however, and five summers since the Year Zero of 1976 when Punk in the UK had first reared its head, and the scene was starting to fragment. Steve, Spence and Paul had all been inspired by the original wave of bands such as the Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned, Heartbreakers, Ramones, Dead Boys etc., gone to Seditionaries and Boy for their clothes, had the green hair and truly adhered to the Punk look /ethics of the time. Now, however, in 1981, with most of the above bands now long since split or existing in a form that bore no relation to their original incarnation, the Punk scene had started to fragment, yet a true hardcore scene had emerged, that stayed true to the original DIY ethics and that was largely populated with disillusioned Punks of the original school, was that was populated with bands such as Crass, Epileptics (later Flux of Pink Indians) the Poison Girls and local Punk band, The Sinyx.

It was this latter scene that re-inspired Steve, Spencer and Paul, and after their first rehearsal together, again at the Legendary Daves, they began formulating an extremely potent set of original material. After some arduous, magical Rehearsals, the band set out to ply live, beginning with a legendary appearance at a venue in an out of town Suburb that caused much consternation and uproar amongst the local residents and in the local press, at the Thorpedene Community Centre on the 19th of August 1981. The band felt empowered from the performance and coupled with encouragement from their friends amongst the Punk contingent in the audience, continued to rehearse with a renewed vigour. September 1981, Bassist Mick Grant, who had recently converted to Christianity, decided he couldn't reconcile his new religious beliefs with that of the bands, and left. Luckily, Spencer knew a Bassist called Andy Fisher, who although from a slightly different musical background, being more into The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus etc., was very much into the ideas of the band, and duly joined. Being new to the Bass, Andy diligently learnt the bands songs, and debuted with them at the Maritime Rooms, Southend, on the 2/10/81. The band now were beginning to seriously gel, and in order to reflect their more serious approach, in late 1981, they chose a new name for themselves, The Kronstadt Uprising.

Firstly, they decided to enter a proper recording studio, and lay down the key songs from their current live set. They did this on the 29/11/81 at the Elephant Studios, Wapping, London. They managed to put down nine tracks and adapted quite well to the confines of the studio. However, after taking the recording away, the band became increasingly disenchanted with the recording. It was rather weak, and in no way reflected the power of the band live. In order to console themselves, they played their first concert as The Kronstadt Uprising on the 7/12/81 at the Southend Focus Centre, and set about making plans for 1982. The main thing that arose from the Kronstadt's first demo recording though, was the fact that Steve sent a copy of it to Crass, who decided to include a track from it - Receiver Deceiver - on their forthcoming compilation album, Bullshit Detector Volume 2, which was ultimately released in September 1982.

The band started 1982 in earnest, regularly playing at local venues such as The Grand Hotel in Leigh and in the process establishing quite a formidable local following. However, owing to internal differences amongst various band members, primarily revolving around commitment, Vocalist Spencer Blake left the band. Deciding to continue, Paul Lawson took on Vocal duties as well as guitar, and although not as proficient, he managed to keep the continuity of the band going, and also established a harsher edge to their sound. Pauls first concert with the band on vocals was at Heroes, a Punk club in Chelmsford Essex on the 26/6/82. The bands fans were divided on Pauls singing style, and although they may have lost a few fans, after a while they consolidated their fan base and gained many new ones. This was largely due to the band recording an EP under the production of John Loder and the Flux of Pink Indians for the Flux's Spiderleg label. The EP was to be called The Unknown Revolution, and although recorded in September 1982, it was eventually released at about the same time the following year.

Drummer Steve was perhaps the busiest member of the band, for apart from playing in the Kronstadt Uprising, he also joined local Punk band the Sinyx for most of 1982 on Drums, and played many concerts with them, both locally, and out of town and in London. They would regularly play alongside bands such as The Mob, Rudimentary Peni, Nightmare etc. When vocalist Paul Barrett left the band late in 1982, and with increasing Kronstadt commitments, Steve decided to also leave and concentrate full time on his Kronstadt Activities.

Most of 1982 for the Kronstadt was spent both playing live and writing a new set of songs. With the release of "Bullshit Detector' in the Autumn of that year, the band became increasingly popular amongst the new breed of fanzines, such as Final Curtain and Obituary, and would regularly appear/give interviews in them. (Steve had inaugurated his own fanzine - Necrology - that ran from 1981 - 1982). They started to play outside the region, and began concentrating on playing in London, which maintained a bastion of loyal Punk supporters. The Crass album did amazingly well, and the band were often sending out tapes etc. to fans across the world, and were often pleased to be cited as an influence amongst the newer generation of bands.

To further add to the bands powerful sound, guitarist Nick 'Filf' Robinson (ex-Icons/Sinyx) joined the Kronstadt Uprising on January 1983 and debuted with the band at Rayleigh alternative night-club Crocs on the 24/2/83. The band rehearsed and gigged solidly, but were becoming disillusioned with the current Punk scene, after having many concerts cancelled owing to complete inefficiency on the organisers behalf, records delayed etc. The band played a headline concert at the main theatre of the Focus centre Southend, and despite playing their heart's out, overcoming technical problems and hassle from a moronic section of skinheads in the crowd, the concert was a triumph, although it effectively ended this period of the Kronstadt's career.

The band took a Sabbatical, Paul and Andy recuperated, Nick 'Filf' Robinson left, and Steve went around Europe for a few weeks. When the band regrouped, everyone was frustrated with their pigeon-holing, and Paul Lawson temporarily left, to be briefly replaced by Paul Brown (guitar) and Paul Barrett (Vocals). Things weren't the same, and in late 1983, Paul rejoined, returning the Kronstadt to its core axis of Paul on Guitar and Vocals, Andy on Bass and Steve on Drums. Despite the EP being finally released, the band were determined to get way from the confines of the current punk scene, and return to their roots: The mercurial punk/r'n'r of the Pistols, Clash etc., aligned with the re-emergence of the bands hero, Johnny Thunders. There were also current groups that the band respected such as The Lords of the New Church and Hanoi Rocks, both of whom were from the punk scene, but were developing their own sound - A perspective and ethos that the Kronstadt has long adhered to and would now set about putting into place.

Late 1983 saw the band play just a few local concerts, as they were developing their new sound and concentrating on writing new numbers. Thus they began 1984 in a very optimistic frame of mind and set upon an intense period of recording, staring at the Pet sounds Studio in London where they recorded two tracks on the 14/1/84, The Day After and The Knife, a live set at local rehearsal studio Honky Tonk on the 3/3/84, and what would be this era of the bands final recording, a three song demo at Pet Sounds again on the 10/3/84, consisting of I don't wanna Live your way today, old favourite Living in a Nightmare and the White Room. Despite the encouragement of the their new direction and the favourable reaction the band found amongst their hard core followers, after three years together, the various members felt that they had progressed as far as they could as a unit, and the band played their final concert, with the Lost Cherees, on the 5/3/84 at the Old Queens Head, Stockwell London, and, after the recording and three years together, decided to call it a day.

However, in Steve's heart he knew he really wanted to play raw burning Rock and Roll, so Steve set about putting a new line up of the Kronstadt Uprising together.

With Bass playing friend Stuart Emmerton, whom Steve had met at college, and with Murray Blake (brother of Spencer) on guitar, the trio set about rehearsing and finding a suitable vocalist. Spencer Blake, the original Kronstadt Vocalist, briefly stood in the vocal limelight, but after commitment problems, he was replaced by Steves friend Gary Smith (ex-The Get) on Vocals. So in late 1984, the new era of the Kronstadt Uprising was inaugaurated, and the band set about putting a set together. With songs initially drawn from the later numbers of the old Kronstadt set, such as Live for Today and the Knife, the band were also writing some very potent new material.

Thus, in April 1985 the band went into Diploma Studios, Wickford, Essex and recorded three songs - Part of the Game, The Horsemen and Live for Today. Local entrepreneur Ian Cox liked the results and a mutually financed single, of Part of the Game, was released on his own Dog Rock Records. To firmly launch the new band, they played their debut gig together at the Basildon Roundacre on the 3/5/85. The new line up went down well with the Kronstadt die-hards in the audience, and they managed to also draw in a new crowd, mostly made up of ex-punks now fired by the newer Rock and Roll they heard in groups ranging from the Lords and Thunders through to the more diverse acts such as The Cult and Zodiac Mindwarp.

Shortly after the concert, and via a long-forgotten add for a guitarist that had been placed in a local music shop, Guitarist Kevin de Groot called Steve, came down for an audition, and after a blistering run through of Iggy's Search and Destroy, was duly recruited to the Kronstadt ranks. Kev added a new angle to the Kronstadt s raw, frontal R'N'R attack. Being heavily into Hendrix and the Sisters of Mercy, Kev contributed more complex solos and helped enlarge even further the Kronstadt sound. The band went into Reel Time Studios in London and immediately recorded three of their newest songs - Looking for You, Suicide and What are you gonna do. The five piece then played at the Monico, Canvey Island, Essex on the 10/9/85, and thereafter set about writing a lot of new, strong material and playing out live as frequently as possible, often at local haunts such as The Grand Hotel and The Pink Toothbrush (ex-Crocs), and culminating in a mercurial performance at the Clarendon, Hammersmith, New Years Eve, 1985.

By now, Steve was at University in London, so rehearsals were somewhat harder to make, but the band decided to really increase their range and scope in 1986 in order to fully realise their potential. Early 1986 saw the band regularly playing in and around London, as well as a semi-residencies at such Southend venues as Reids. The band also played and headlined at a local celebration of Punk/Trash culture at a night named after one of their key songs - The Knife club - on the 8/2/86. With the new musical culture of the mid-'80's being receptive to the Kronstadt's new sound, things were looking promising. After more intense writing and rehearsing of new material, the band went into Spectrum Studios in Southend to record two songs that encapsulated the new eclectic approach - Stay Free and Hold me Back - on the 14/5/86. To follow the recording the band played a triumphant concert at the Southend College of Technology on the 16/5/86 in front of a large crowd and this should have marked the start of the bands climb onto further heights. However, it proved to be the reverse, and was the last concert the Kronstadt Uprising ever played.

Despite the Kronstadt Uprisings main strength as a unit lying in the diversity of the members tastes, and consequently producing a somewhat raw and original sound, these strengths inevitably turned into weaknesses and formed the basis upon which the various members would quit. First, Murray Blake, the Rhythm Guitarist left (he later went on to play in Sonic Violence, a band formed out of the ashes of the Sinyx, and who, in the late '80's / mid 1990's would be at the forefront of the new Earache/Godflesh Industrial movement) in July 1986. This reduced the band to a four piece, but with Steve now living in London, Stuart moving to London and Kev de Groot and Gary Smith working in London , the band became officially London based and found a new studio in the Shoreditch / Whitechapel area and began working on new material. Unfortunately later that year in October, Gary Smith left the band, leaving the remaining trio of Steve, Stuart and Kev.

The aforementioned trio continued, with Steve and Kev in particular writing new songs, consolidating on the Kronstadt's past, but also looking to the future. Quite a few new songs were written, ranging from out and out pure R'N'R songs of Steves, to the looser, more Hendrix / Sisters inspired songs of Kevs. The band needed a Vocalist and basically for a year, until November 1987, auditioned potential recruits and sometimes potential Rhythm Guitarists. As things were relatively quiet in the KU camp, Steve helped out fellow London Rock and Rollers, the Disney Razors, as their drummer had gone AWOL. The band had just released their debut LP, and had an important gig booked, so Steve stepped in, learnt their set and played the gig for them at New Merlins Cave, Kings Cross, London in the summer of that year.

Meanwhile, auditions continued apace, and the band carried on writing. However, Gary's departure had really signalled the bands death-knell, and without finding a suitable replacement, combined with the members ever diverging musical interest and disillusionment at the possibility of ever finding a suitable Vocalist, in November 1987, the Kronstadt banner was finally lowered and after six years existence, the band was no more.

In retrospect, the band would have changed their name had a new singer been found, such was the different sound. Steve was firmly entrenched (and is to this day) in his undying love of raw Rock'n'Roll, especially as performed by his trinity of 'Johnny Thunders / Lords of the New Church / Hanoi Rocks. Stuart, in the late '80's became a convert to this sound also, whilst Kev retreated into more acoustic experimentation.

Thus Steve and Stuart set about forming a new band in London that would come to be known as The Ghosts of Lovers. Although Stuart Left early on, and they only lasted two short but magical years (1989 - 1991), they epitomised everything Steve had been searching to do all these years - Raw heartbreak Rock and Roll with style. Kevin went on to work as a solo performer under the name of the Misanthrope, returning to an earlier influence Julian Cope, and a latter one of Leonard Cohen.

With such divergent tastes, primarily experienced by all members of the Kronstadt throughout their entire 1981 - 1987 history, its no surprise in some respects that the band didn't continue. However, it was these differences, combined at the same time with an inner belief of their own unique take on things, that made the Kronstadt the band it was. Never happy being genericised and compartmentalised into certain areas, the one thing they all had in common was a strong desire to change any prevailing modes of thought on what to except from a band coming from the same background as themselves, and at the same time to rally against any perceived notions of any predetermined courses set for them.. Irrespective of what style they were playing, it could all be encompassed within the Punk Spirit, and with the breakthrough in the 1990's of bands like Nirvana, the efforts of the Kronstadt weren't in vain, for bands such as them certainly helped lay the foundations for what was to come. The Kronstadt Uprising is Dead... Long Live the Kronstadt Uprising.