EDITORIAL REVIEWS
In 1979, APB was formed in the small rural town of Aberdeen, Scotland. Taking inspiration from the D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) spirit of punk rock, teenagers Iain Slater (singer, bassist), Glenn Roberts (guitar), and George Cheyne (drums) rehearsed relentlessly and signed with local independent Oily Records at the dawn of the 1980s. The band's trademark post-punk dance rhythms were there from the start, with debut single Shoot You Down crackling with serrated guitar and Slater's native vocal inflections. APB was in lock step with similarly militaristic dance factions of the time -- Gang of Four, Au Pairs, Delta 5 -- but their own music was more celebratory and inclusive. Everyone was invited to an APB party. When I bought the second APB single, 'Shoot You Down,' I was blown away by the pure energy and sparse funk groove that drove the record, said Matt Pinfield, former host of MTV's 120 Minutes. Over the course of the next few years, I saw the band live about 15 times. They would always pack clubs in New York, New Jersey, and Long Island -- anywhere they received airplay. In 2018's Beastie Boy Book, band member Adam Ad-Rock Horowitz referred to Shoot You Down as a punk dance-floor classic. Over their 40 plus year career the Scottish post-punk band has released three studio albums and one singles compilation Something to Believe In. The Radio 1 sessions compiles nineteen tracks recorded for the BBC radio featuring fifteen tracks never available on any APB recording. The performances were recorded throughout 1981-84 on various radio shows hosted by legendary UK DJs, John Peel, David Jensen and Peter Powell.