Vice Squad
Vice Squad are a female fronted UK Punk Rock band that delivers short sharp songs with incisive lyrics spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars.
August 2022 saw the release of two limited edition CD EPs ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and ‘Hidden Vices Volume 1’.
Promo videos for ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and ‘Killjoy’ were also released.
‘Rooms At The Top’ CD EP was released in April 2022 with a promo video cut from live footage of the band.
In March 2022 the ‘Humane’ 3 track digital EP was released via Bandcamp and raised £2,500 for animals in the Ukraine.
‘Battle of Britain’ was released in red and blue vinyl formats in December 2021 and December also saw the release of a re-mix of ‘A Dog Is For Life’ available as a digital download only.
September 2021 saw the second Motorhead tribute with the release of the ‘Road Crew’ EP, ‘We Are The Road Crew’ ‘Damage Case and ‘Motorhead’ were given the acoustic treatment and ‘Iron Fist’ was recorded in the more typical Vice Squad style electric style. Two videos ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Damage Case’ were also released.
In May 2021 they released the ‘Vice Of Spades’ EP in tribute to Motorhead, taking ‘Ace of Spades’ ‘Dancing On Your Grave’ ‘No Class’ and ‘Bomber’ and giving them the acoustic treatment with a Country and Western twist and Honky Tonk piano.
In December 2020 they released the digital download ‘The Story Of My Life’ and the accompanying video was shot on Clapham Common.
Their latest album ‘Battle of Britain’ was released on their own Last Rockers label through Cargo on 16th October 2020.
Review of Battle Of Britain in the Vive le Rock best albums of 2020:
‘Thirteen stabs of violence and vitriol ably mixing Punk and Metal in a cacophony of riffs…. ‘Poverty Face’ and ‘Pulling Teeth will set your dials for you, no question about it.’
2020 also saw the release of the CD EPs ‘Vice-O-Lation Vol 1’ in June, ‘Vice-O-Lation Vol 2’ in August and ‘Vice-O-Lation Vol 3’ in December. The tracks featured on the EPs were recorded during the lockdown and feature acoustic guitar versions of songs featured on previous albums. These follow CD EPs ‘When You Were 17’ ‘Born In A War’ ‘Ignored To Death v2’ ‘Mainstream Media’ and ‘I Dare To Breathe’ taken from the Battle of Britain album.
Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title. The title was inspired by ‘Cardboard City’, the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near Waterloo station.
Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such as Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. The band is 100% DIY and has no record company or management backing. Since reforming Vice Squad in 1997 the band has released several albums with powerful punk songs that are well received across the world. In keeping with the DIY ethic the albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London .
Vice Squad were part of the now legendary Social Chaos tour of North America in 1999 which featured bands such as TSOL, DRI, Murphy’s Law, The UK Subs, The Dropkick Murphys and The Business. Beki was the only female musician on the tour.
2019 – The CD EP ‘I Dare To Breathe’ from the forthcoming Battle of Britain album is released in April along with a very DIY promo video shot in a bedroom in South London. Another CD EP ‘Main Stream Media’ is released in July along with another very DIY promo video, again filmed in a small bedroom. The band play various shows in the UK including HRH Punk in Sheffield, Rebellion in Blackpool, No Future in Cardiff and the London Punk Festival plus the Once A Punk Always A Punk festival in Antwerp.
The band film their first professional videos for the songs ‘Ruination’ and ‘When You Were Seventeen’ in September 2019.
2018 – Songwriting and recording continue and the band play TNT Festival in Antwerp, Rebellion Festivals in Dublin and Blackpool and the United Street Kids festival in Zurich along with UK shows. The CD EP ‘Ignored To Death’ is released in December on the band’s Last Rockers label.
2017- This year saw the release of 3 new songs ‘London Fog’ ‘Beautiful Toy’ and ‘Prozac Nation’ on a limited edition Vice Squad/Droogettes split EP on US label Rebel Sound/Violated Records on CD and in red or purple vinyl. Vice squad played several festivals including Scotland Calling, Melrock (Belgium), Thinking Pink Festival, Rebellion in Blackpool and Rebellion in Dublin and TNT Festival in Belgium.
In 2009 the band did an 18 date tour in the USA to great acclaim and was invited to headline the Altavoz rock festival in Colombia in 2012 playing to a 30,000 strong audience. Recent invitations include European festival performances at Pod Parou (Czech), Hard Rock Hell (Ibiza), Ratrock (Belgium), Punk & Disorderly (Germany) and Exit Festival, Serbia.
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Album reviews
Punk Rock Radio (2011)
Studs and Punks 4.5 out of 5 stars
“Vice Squad are still relevant, still throwing out top quality songs with passion and love, fun and humour and bags of enjoyment they are still enjoying themselves and in the music it shows. I shall see them on the road soon as they are always out there pushing punk, get out there and see them live and get this CD before it sells out.”
Musical lead
“Vice Squad has an iconic lead singer (Beki Bondage) and a sound that still sounds fresh and the music sounds tight and crisp. Vice Squad is a vital block in the history of punk rock and this album is proof that being relevant is more for the fans than for the band. Vice Squad is now what they were back then, yesterday and twenty-five years from now, Punk Rock Royalty.”
London Underground (2009)
Studs and Punks 5 stars out of 5
“Vice squads punk rock loyalty and general attitude have really impressed me over the years, and having listened to London Underground, their music shows that they well and truly deserve to be up there on the podium as one of the greats of all time. I guess if there was an equivalent award for Punk lifetime achievement, my vote would go in this direction, and I am pretty sure that I would need to rig the ballet box.”
Profane existence
“Tight, punchy, get to the point songs, the way punk rock needs to be. This album can stand with their older albums and make you glad to be into old school punk without apologies. If you ever get the chance to see VICE SQUAD in concert…DO IT!!!!!!!!!!”
Defiant (2006)
Punkmusic about
“It’s nice to hear that time hasn’t mellowed Beki Bondage, but made her a better singer teamed up with better musicians who can keep it together as they hammer out tight trash riffs.”
Suburban horror.com zine
“Vice Squad is about the most authentic band playing punk rock today.”