Welsh punk stalwarts 100,000 Bodybags have called it a day after almost three decades of disobedience.
On 22nd May 2020 a statement appeared on their social media stating:
We always wanted to do things our way, and I can’t think of anything more “Us” than fucking off and splitting up a month before our 30th anniversary. A genuine, heartfelt thank you to everyone I’ve met and who has given any time at all to this band. Every small connection was a canvas for us to spunk our meagre creativity on. From all of us at 100,000 Bodybags ta ta. Its been a blast. x
The Bodybags formed in 1990 out of the ashes of two previous bands, ‘Rape of Lucricia’ and ‘Funeral in Berlin’. The latter famously playing a gig in The Little Theatre in Blackwood with a nascent Manic Street Preachers as support.
From 1990 onwards they showed no compromise, playing an in ya face brand of shouty punk rock that won them die hard fans the length and breadth of this green unpleasant land.
Those early days were their most productive, rapidly releasing the first of their eventual ten albums, some on indie labels, some off their own back.
We hopped on a minibus with the band to go to a showcase gig for the Damaged Goods label in London. It was the launch party for their second single. The band were dropped by the label after the gig apparently turned into a ‘near riot’ – although it just seemed like a fairly average night out in the valleys to us.
In the early days of Peppermint Iguana they were almost our house band, supporting many of the bands we brought to town – playing Iguana gigs with P.A.I.N. Terrorist Ballet Dancers From Hell, Blythe Power and The Tofu Love Frogs.
In 2005, they were part of punk supergroup This System Kills and played an Anti-G8 gig for us in Cardiff and in 2015 they played the Cardiff Anarchist Book Fair after party for us.
With their departure we thought it about time we did a long overdue article on them. But they have saved us the trouble of writing anything by – in typical Bodybags style – doing it themselves.
Follow this link for the history of 100,000 Bodybags – 3,000 words, 30 Years, 1 History, zero fucks given.
We wish them luck with whatever they do in the future and thank them for the memories.
(NB: The article is a little light on photographs – if you hve any decent photos of the band you would like to share, please get in touch)