THE CRABS

Text reprinted from Paul Marko at www.punk77.co.uk :

Formed in Great Yarmouth  East Anglia in 1974 and known as Cosmic Love and then Teezer, The Crabs were vocalist/guitarist Tony Diggines, guitarist Ronnie Rocker, drummer Ricci Titcombe and bassist William Kimbling. They supported the likes of X-Ray Spex,The Lurkers, Sham 69, The Jam & Siouxsie & The Banshees and many others and regularly played famous punk venues venues like The Roxy & Vortex.  Also known as The Fulham Furies for a side project. After The Crabs members became the backing band for Gary Holton and played with Max Splodge. During the eighties Ronnie Rocker played with The Angelic Upstarts and The Godfathers. 

Its a sad fact but like so many bands at the time The Crabs never got the breaks nor the recordings out they deserved. Quality songs like Lullabies Lie show a tuneful quality while Victim shows them as punk rock as the next. Their sole recording output is a solitary live track Lullabies Lie on the mixed bag that was the Farewell To The Roxy album. They signed to Lightning in February 1978, home of the flotsam & jetsam of punk like The Mirrors, Cane & Horrorcomic who were going nowhere. Allegedly a single exists  - Victim /Blue Unction/ My Skin - but  probably was never released as noone has ever seen a copy. Tracks in their set at the time  included Dull Kid, C.R.A.B.S, For Us & Wartime Memories. They got very little publicity except when Ricci was charged with intent to commit GBH in February 1978. Tired of beer glasses being thrown at him he threw one back and ... hit his girlfriend... and got arrested despite her not wanting to press charges!!! Mind you their 'Catch The Crabs slogan' was catchy!

So what went wrong for The Crabs? Simply bad luck and the fact that they were a tuneful above ordinary punk band just as Punk started to harden into a more hardcore form. Record companies just weren't interested anymore and The Crabs were at the fag end of the Roxy. How many of those bands were signed compared to the first Roxy live album?  And that's where they sit, perennial supports at The Vortex & Roxy.  Peelie obviously recognised they were above ordinary and gave them a session in '78 featuring Victim, Under Pressure, Lullabies Lie & Don't Want Your Love. For that we have to be thankful.

Ironically  their only real vinyl was when they recorded a football song dedicated to Fulham FC as The Fulham Furies (wrongly thought to be Cocksparrer or even The Lurkers!) These Boots Were Made For Walking / Under Pressure. Produced by Mike Berry of the Wombles fame!!

Catch The Crabs here:

This compilation features the band's 1978 John Peel Session, Live at The Vortex Club 1978-01-13 and a single they released in 1978 under the name "Fulham Furies".

Don't Catch The Crabs

Here is the song they opened with at the Vortex gig 1978-01-13. It was left off the compilation for some reason:

Hawaii 5.0 Theme

Here is The Crabs' contribution to Lightning Records Various Artists album "Farewell To The Roxy", oddly enough recorded live at the Roxy Club sometime between December 30th, 1977 & January 2nd, 1978:

Lullabies Lie