Steve Pegrum - Drums
The Sinyx formed in the Summer of 1979 in the seaside community of Southend-on-Sea and played their first gig at the Focus Youth Centre in early 1980. The bands name was based on the name of the ancient Greek movement of anti-societal rebels 'The Cynics'. They quickly attracted a fervent local following amongst the regions Punks and Skins, and began playing concerts further afield with groups sharing a similar outlook, including the Epileptics / Flux of Pink Indians, The Erratics and local band The Icons. A demo tape was recorded on the 1/3/80 at the Elephant Studio, Wapping, 'Mark of the Beast', 'Automaton' and 'Therapy through Violence'. Crass chose one of the tracks - 'Mark of the Beast' - for inclusion on a compilation of Punk bands called 'Bullshit Detector Volume One' (A second demo was recorded by the band on the 6/9/80, but was never released - Barry Martin was at the control desk, and they recorded four songs: 'Suicide', 'Britain is a Mausoleum','Decadence' and 'Animal'.
Following the records release, the band embarked upon a period of solid gigging, but all was not well in the Sinyx camp, and in late 1980, a reshuffle of the band personnel occurred. Alien continued singing, whilst Auntie switched to Drums, and new members Filf and John Edwards (both ex-Icons) joined on Guitar and Bass respectively. This line up quickly established a newer, slowed down and more intense sound and set about writing new material, such as 'Fight', 'Nausea' and 'Excommunication'. The band often organised their own gigs and played many concerts in and around London and the South-East. In 1981 the band went into Spectrum Studios in Southend and recorded four tracks for what would later be released as 'The Black Death ep' on the Reality Attack label.
The tracks were 'The Plague','Decadence', 'Zulu' and 'Animal'. The record did well in the Indie / Punk charts and consolidated the Sinyx';s growing position within Punk circles. Upon its release however, the band, repeating a familiar pattern, had another line up change. Alien remained on vocals, and Auntie, the other Sinyx co-founder, switched to Guitar. John Edwards moved on to Second Guitar, and new members Andy Whiting played Bass, and Steve Pegrum (of the Kronstadt Uprising) played Drums. With an intense period of rehearsing the old set and writing new numbers occupying the first couple of months of 1982, from March 1982 onwards the band set about gigging with a renewed fervour and their best sounding set to date. The band debuted the new line-up at the Forest Gate centre on 26/3/82, alongside the Mob and Rudimentary Peni. More concerts followed, a highlight of which was their performance at the Centro Iberico, in West London with the Mob on 1/8/82. The band was starting to seriously gel and potent new material such as 'David's Star', 'Charles Manson/g' and 'Kiss of Death' was being developed.
However, after a concert at the Moonlight club in West Hampstead, London, with Rudimentary Peni and Riot/Clone on the 11/9/82, founder member Alien left the band, feeling that they had achieved all they set out to do. The band did continue on with other members until 1985, but essentially this marked the death-knell of the band and the end of The Sinyx.
The final number to be written by this line up - 'Blasphemer' - the groups most intense song to date, would indicate the future direction to be taken by the band, and would form the basis of Auntie's new group, 'Sonic Violence', whom would go on to much critical acclaim in the late 1980's/early 1990's.
The Sinyx's most active and creative period was 1980 - 1982 however, and they certainly earned themselves a key position in the second wave of punk, and 'The Plague', as heard on the CD 'Anti-State' (OVER 105 VPCD), gives some indication of their intense, hypnotic sound.
Catalogue of Sinyx Songs:
'Zulu', 'Fight', 'Excommunication', 'Nine O' Clock News', 'Nausea', 'Necrophile', 'David's Star', 'Charles Manson/g', 'Kiss of Death', 'Blasphemer', '9-5 Auschwitz', 'Bullwood Hall', 'Therapy Through Violence', 'Camouflage', 'Britain is a Mausoleum', 'Mark of the Beast', 'Automaton', 'Decadence', 'Animal', 'Suicide' 'and 'The Plague'.
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