Self Abuse was formed in Bournemouth, Dorset in January 1982 when Andy Nazer [vocals/bass] and Dave Brown [guitar vocals] both 16 old and still at school, got together with Roger [later Jarvis] Smale [guitar] and Steve Ridgeway [drums] both age 17.
The first gig was played in at the Sloop pub, Poole, [with Barbed Wire] in October and the first cassette 'State of Mind' was recorded and released on their own 'Abused Tapes' label later that year.
1983 saw them record and realese the 'Teenage' cassette [again on their own label] and play across the south of England with band such as Subhumans, Cult Maniax, Screaming Dead, Amebix, A-Heads, Organised Chaos, Shrapnel, The Samples and more locally with Butcher, The Mad Are Sane, Admass/Madmass, Shock to the System/Atrox, Idiom Tribe, Confession of Sin, Last Order, Breakout and The Parasites among many others.
In 1984, the [I Didn't Wanna be a] Soldier EP was released [almost a year after being recorded in the summer of 1983] on the Radical Change label and was played by the great John Peel on his radio show. A third demo/cassette was recorded in the summer and two songs [Another Nightmare and Strange Life] were released on the Party Pooping Punk Provocations 12" compilation on the Xcentric Noise label. The other songs remained unreleased.
The band split that year after a final Xmas gig at the Pembroke Arms in Bournemouth.
20 years later in 2004, the original line up reformed to play a sold-out gig at Mr Smiths in Bournemouth and released the No Change 7" EP on Abused Records and the following year saw them play the Wasted [now Rebellion] Festival in Morecombe and continue with other gigs playing with Subhumans, Virus amongst others here and there.
The first gig was played in at the Sloop pub, Poole, [with Barbed Wire] in October and the first cassette 'State of Mind' was recorded and released on their own 'Abused Tapes' label later that year.
1983 saw them record and realese the 'Teenage' cassette [again on their own label] and play across the south of England with band such as Subhumans, Cult Maniax, Screaming Dead, Amebix, A-Heads, Organised Chaos, Shrapnel, The Samples and more locally with Butcher, The Mad Are Sane, Admass/Madmass, Shock to the System/Atrox, Idiom Tribe, Confession of Sin, Last Order, Breakout and The Parasites among many others.
In 1984, the [I Didn't Wanna be a] Soldier EP was released [almost a year after being recorded in the summer of 1983] on the Radical Change label and was played by the great John Peel on his radio show. A third demo/cassette was recorded in the summer and two songs [Another Nightmare and Strange Life] were released on the Party Pooping Punk Provocations 12" compilation on the Xcentric Noise label. The other songs remained unreleased.
The band split that year after a final Xmas gig at the Pembroke Arms in Bournemouth.
20 years later in 2004, the original line up reformed to play a sold-out gig at Mr Smiths in Bournemouth and released the No Change 7" EP on Abused Records and the following year saw them play the Wasted [now Rebellion] Festival in Morecombe and continue with other gigs playing with Subhumans, Virus amongst others here and there.
