Were Birdland the most important band of the 80s or what?
 

Come on...you know it makes sene.

Um.......no. Still, they were about a million percent better than any of Paul Weller's bowel movements, so you may have a point.

EDIT - Who WERE the most important English band in the 80's. The Smiths? New Order? Napalm Death? Someone else?

Certainly not important...and certainly a bag of shite, like most 80's indie music.

I think that whatever reputation they had came from covering a Patti Smith tune, at a time where nobody gave a shit about her. That and the blonde hair. They must have been popular with boy-friendly managers...

napalm death.

I knew a lot of poser indie kids at the time who liked them, largely because of the way they looked. American bands like Sonic Youth, Big Black, Minutemen, Dinosaur, were very unfashionable but had the honesty and unselfconsciousness (or so it seemed at the time) that a lot of British bands didn't have.

The first two are obviously pretty signif, but have been thinking about ND recently.
Their impact on the metal scene is basically massive. Arguably the most important British band since punk. Seriously.

The press (up to a certain point) used to loathe bands like Spacement 3 and World Domination Enterprises, who, whatever their respective merits (or lack of), at least didn't try to pander to some contemporary scene.

Spot on. They've influenced and inspired so many bands, their influence has been to some degree as important and pervasive as the Sex Pistols.

Greatest record of the '80s?

Side 1 was Crass vs Celtic Frost (perchance the likes of Sepultura were listening to this?)
Side 2 kicked off the whole goddamn grindcore/sludge metal scene

Perhaps not the 'best' record per se, but undoubtedly one of the most influential.

Remember buying it in the local Our Price back in the day. The first metal i'd heard that you could like without having to even THINK about Deep Purple.

Remember them on that Arena documentary? "This one's for the BBC. It's called 'You Suffer'......YOUUUAAARRRGGGHHH!"

Classic! I really wish they'd release that on DVD. I can't even find it on Youtube.

That doc was so great (Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fencing and looking at Jimmy Page's stagewear, interviews with Mr Kerrang, Napalm Death interviewed in their bedroom), the only minus was that odious guitar-widdling 10 year old. Wonder what he's doing now, fixing exhausts ('Yew done mi motor yit, yew fookin' coont?')?

Are you two fucking mental. Napalm Death were a shitty heavy metal band who influenced a lot of other shitty heavy metal bands.

Yes on the mental front, don't agree with you on the "shitty heavy metal" comment. But hell, what's the beef? We all have different opinions here, that's what makes it interesting.

Napalm Deaths first two alums were really, really good then they got really bad.

Sorry, I should have added a ;) to the end.

"Are you two fucking mental. Napalm Death were a shitty heavy metal band who influenced a lot of other shitty heavy metal bands.;) "

Sorted.

I realise that I also called Birdland a bag of shite in this thread. I'm not usually so negative. I just remember the lengths I had to go to in the 80's (pre-internet kiddies) to find decent music. And often I'd give in, and buy something like Napalm Death (I got the first LP) only to find it was incredibly ORDINARY.

...Okay, ANYWAY, the best English indie band of the eighties was The Sound. Please, for the love of fucking Christ, download some of their stuff... you won't be disappointed and I mean it.