Hitchin, UK · punk · uk82

Chron Gen

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Second-wave UK punk with more melody than the leather-and-studs crowd usually allowed — UK82 veterans with genuine tunes under the spikes.

Chron Gen formed in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, in January 1978, drawing members from two earlier local bands, The Condemned and Optional Xtras. The original line-up paired singer and guitarist Glynn "Baxter" Barber with drummer Jon "JJ" Johnson, bassist Adam Warwicker and rhythm guitarist Jon Thurlow; Pete Dimmock took over on bass after the band's first demo.

Their debut EP, Puppets of War, appeared in 1981 on the band's own Gargoyle label and spent close to ten months on the UK Independent Chart, peaking at number four. That summer they joined The Exploited, Discharge, Anti-Pasti and the Anti-Nowhere League on the Apocalypse tour, before releasing a single on Step Forward and then moving to Secret Records, home to several of their contemporaries.

Secret issued the band's debut album, Chronic Generation, in March 1982; it reached number 53 on the UK Albums Chart and was Jon Thurlow's last record with the band, who was replaced by Mark "Floyd" Allison. The material favoured tuneful, fast punk with clear vocal melodies rather than the shouted delivery common to the era, and the band toured Britain and the United States behind it.

Dimmock left to join Chelsea, and was replaced by Roy Horner. The band's final release, the 1984 mini-album Nowhere to Run, had been recorded before Horner's arrival with session bassist Nigel Ross-Scott, and Chron Gen split that October. Floyd Allison died in 1999 and Pete Dimmock in 2011.

Glynn Barber still performs locally as a solo artist under the nickname Baxter and plays in the glam rock tribute band Rebel Rebel. Chron Gen itself has reformed and toured periodically since, releasing the album This Is the Age in 2016.

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