Under the Westway: 1979 Portobello Punks

Emerging from the squats, free gigs and improvised studios of late-70’s Portobello Road, F*ck Off Records operated at the volatile intersection of hippie idealism and punk DIY. Active between 1979 and 1982, the label released copied-to-order cassettes alongside a small number of vinyl EPs and LPs with music by Alternative TV, The 012, Danny & The Dressmakers, Here & Now, The Instant Automatons, The Androids Of Mu and their many collaborators.

Founded by Kif Kif Le Batteur and Jonathan Barnett in a period when Portobello was dense with creative possibility: vacant houses, squatted venues, free festivals and heaps of talent.

We join Jonathan Barnett to trace the roots of the label through the influences of Sniffin’ Glue and Mark Perry to Here & Now’s free-music ethos and open minded approach to supporting others. Central to the label’s emergence was Street Level Studios, a low-cost recording space that allowed bands to record without compromise, and the cassette as a format that made duplication, circulation and autonomy possible.

00:00-01:48 Heading To Portabello Road
01:49-02:26 "The Ballad Of F*uk Off Records" The Sell Outs
02:27-03:49 Jonathan Barnett Joins Here & Now
03:50-04:15 Planet Gong
04:16-05:03 Virgin HQ Occupation
05:04-05:45 "Terrified Of Dogs" ATV
05:46-08:42 In Contact with Mark Perry
08:43-09:37 Kif Kif and F.O. Records
09:38-12:00 "Pretty Nun" Androids Of Mu
12:00-13:48 Mark Automaton Meets F.O.
13:49-15:55 Danny & The Dressmakers
15:56-17:12 The Idiot Ballroom & Meanwhile Gardens
17:13-18:19 Weird Noise Tapes
18:20-21:23 "Total Disregard For Greenwich Theatre" ATV
21:24-24:17 "Fish From Tahiti" The 012
24:18-25:18 "Asbestos Lead Asbestos" WDE

Hosted by Martin Franklin.
Theme music “This Is Concrete” by The Happy Citizen

KIF KIF
We would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of Keith Dobson aka Kif Kif Le Batteur, who passed away in July 2025. His influence runs through the whole scene that we document in Cassette Culture, and joins many dots in my own life. We are proud to be able to tell at least a small part of his story and so sorry that we just missed him.
(https://www.eatsdrinksandleaves.com/r...)

LINKS
Portobello Film Festival (https://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/)
“Floating Anarchy” Here & Now documentary (   • Floating Anarchy Documentary  )
Good article on the late-70’s Punk/DIY scene by Bob Stanley:
Birth Of The Uncool (https://www.theguardian.com/music/200...)

VIDEO
You can find videos of some of the amazing fanzines and cassette releases that drop through our letterbox on our YouTube channel:    / @cassetteculturepodcast   (   / @cassetteculturepodcast  )


IN THIS EPISODE
VOICES
Martin Franklin
Jonathan Barnett
Keith Dobson, aka Kif Kif Le Batteur
Mark Automaton


MUSIC
“The Ballad of F*ck Off Records” The 012, Weird Noise EP (F*ck Off Records 1980)
“Allez Alibaba” Planet Gong, Floating Anarchy 1977 (Charly Records 1978)
“Terrified of Dogs” Alternative TV, Back To Sing For Free Again Soon compilation (F*ck Off Records 1979)
“Pretty Nun” Androids of Mu, F*ck Off Demo Tape (F*ck Off Records 1979)
“Too Big” The Instant Automatons
“Drop Dead” / “Don’t Make Another Bass Guitar, Mr Rickenbacker” Danny and the Dressmakers, Back To Sing For Free Again Soon compilation (F*ck Off Records 1979)
“Total Disregard for Greenwich Theatre” ATV/The Good Missionaries, Scars On Sunday (F*ck Off Records 1980)
Fish From Tahiti — The 012, Weird Sampler (F*ck Off Records 1981)
Asbestos Lead Asbestos — World Domination Enterprises, Let’s Play Domination (Product Inc 1984)


FIND US
https://cassetteculturepodcast.com (https://cassetteculturepodcast.com/)


SUPPORTERS
Help us keep Cassette Culture alive! This podcast is enabled by generous supporters who gift a small monthly contribution toward the costs of researching, producing and publishing each episode. You can become one of them at:
https://cassetteculturepodcast.bandca...


 


Cassette Culture is produced by Martin Franklin for East Coast Studio (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au (https://eastcoaststudio.com.au/) )