Masters Of The Glueniverse And Senile Punks: Disorder in Norway
Missing a few: Disorder collection here at Negative Insight HQ
All the early stuff: Disorder releases 1981-1984 plus the Norway era 7"s (1991 and 1994) (photo by Eric Good)
Most fans associate Disorder with long-running bassist Taf, but he wasn't in the group when they initially formed in 1979/80. Instead, the first two Disorder 7"s from 1981 ("Complete Disorder" and "Distortion To Deafness") featured Steve Robinson on bass. Taf's Disorder debut came on the "Perdition" 12" from 1983. But the main player and driving force in Disorder was actually founding member Steve Allen. Steve stayed with the band until the early 1990s, at which point he left to pursue other interests. Upon Steve's exit, bassist Taf became the official steward of the Disorder ship and still continues the band today.
Disorder is one of those bands where there's no definitive "classic period." It seems pretty much everyone loves through the "Under The Scalpel Blade" LP (1984), and we here at NI HQ personally love, love, love "Violent World" from 1989. But if you're defining the classic period as going through the last record to feature an original member (which would be Steve Allen), you'd be referring to 1992's split LP with Mushroom Attack called "Masters Of The Glueniverse" on Desperate Attempt Records. Recorded in September of 1991, the record is filled with blistering, noisy drill-to-your-temple thrash in the vein of, well, Disorder.
A further pressing of the album with only the Disorder side was proposed by Czech label Malarie Records and entitled "Senile Punks." However, the album ended up being released by fellow Czech label Bastards Records in 1994 and remains the lowest pressed and final release of Disorder's loosely defined "classic period." (It should be noted Malarie Records did end up doing a cassette version of the album some years later.) It also ended up being considered a partial bootleg by the band with a rather bizarre tale behind it. Here Mirek of the long-standing Czech label Ultimate Ratio shares that story…
Disorder "Senile Punks" LP on Bastards Records
I know Stan Jílek (Bastards Records) from past. I ordered records from him but like 20 years ago. He has very crazy way of ordering records from him: he send you list, you order and just send printed list back to him with answer 'cause he want to save for future printing list he has sent to you, hahaha. Then I meet him personally and he was quite difficult guy to speak and neither to care of records. He has a lot of records in past, really a lot, but he don't care about when he sell them. When I meet him, he just couldn't care about them, put them on the floor and store them horizontally and had them in really but really bad condition. I just gave them to recycling. So I was in touch with him and meet him in past last 20 years, but he move from original address, and I suppose he stops to do any distribution or releasing records.
In time I meet him, I was like 20 he was like 45, quite old guy so now he should be like 60-65 years and don't care about this, doesn't listen from him for like 10-15 years and doesn't meet him for so long time. With this Disorder release, it should originally release on Malarie Records, but Martin couldn't do it and speak to Stan to release it. So he did it, but they don't say it to Disorder and then Disorder were pissed off so much then on some later their release there was drawing of some hanging guy on rope and it should be Martin from Malarie Records, hahahahaha. So there was some troubles with this LP.
Then in past I got quite a lot of this records for distribution without sleeves, so I got original films to print new covers for myself so I have few covers but records I had like one or maybe two, but I suppose they are gone now. I have one copy for sell for sure and maybe find another in some boxes. There was CD of this record done too. I got CDs but no covers, as it deals Stan so I have maybe somewhere some CD too, hahaha.
Thanks to Mirek for sharing this hilarious anecdote with us, and check out his distro list by emailing him at ultima.ratio@seznam.cz or his Discogs page at: RAWBLAST on Discogs.
Old new stock copies of "Senile Punks" are available directly from Mirek on Discogs at Item 873733806 (email him direct if that link is no longer active).
"Senile Punks" LP on Bastards Records and cassette photos from the collection of Negative Insight staff. Disorder/Mushroom Attack "Masters Of The Glueniverse" split LP and Disorder vinyl collage photos from the great collection of Eric from Aus-Rotten.
A CD version of "Senile Punks" was released in 1997 by Anagram Records entitled "The Rest Home For Senile Old Punks Proudly Presents... Disorder," which also features tracks from the "Pain Headache Depression" 7" (Trująca Fala, 1993) and "More Noise" 7" (Filthy Fuckin' Punx Records, 1991).
For further reading, here is a great interview with Steve Allen on Organize and Arise from 2016.
Disorder/Mushroom Attack split LP artwork
Disorder / Mushroom Attack "Masters Of The Glueniverse" split LP (photo by Eric Good)
John John Jesse of Nausea on drawing the artwork for the Disorder/Mushroom Attack split album:
I was the artist who did the Disorder/Mushroom Attack split album. Mushroom Attack was our opening act when we played a show in Holland. It's the show that was released on VHS. Everyone's seen it. And we also became really good friends with Steve from Disorder on our first European tour. Later on he visited NYC and we had some ridiculous times. I think I got $50 to do that cover. Lol!!
But honestly I can't remember who asked me to do the art for that record. Wish I remembered more. It was soo long ago.
Check out John John's other artwork on his Instagram account.
"Masters Of the Glueniverse" in cassette form
Disorder cassette on left contains "Masters of the Glueniverse" ("Senile Punks") and came out (probably) in the early 2000s on an unknown label with unknown authenticity. The cassette on the right is called "3 Little Ducks" and was originally put out by a label called Independence in the Yugoslavia (now Croatia) in 1988 and then distributed by Disorder as well. The version in the photo is on a Greek label called Black September Distribution. This cassette was most likely official.
Disorder: The Norwegian Years
Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh: Disorder 1990s Norwegian 7"s (photo by Eric)
Disorder "Pain Headache Depression" (Trująca Fala, 1994)
Building on the above material, Disorder relocated to Norway in the late '80s. As Steve Allen tells it in an interview, "We played in Trondheim and Taf fell in love with Gabby and decided to move there." Once there, Steve Allen and Taf recruited a new drummer Kenneth before heading into Bootleg studio in Oslo to record 1989's raging "Violent World" album.
Longtime Norwegian lifer and trader in death Kjelli (whom many readers of Negative Insight probably know) received this advance tape of the "Violent World" album from the band. Here is his copy of said tape and his comments on the period.
Disorder "Violent World" LP advance tape from Kjelli
Disorder "Violent World" LP advance tape insert from Kjelli
"I've enclosed my pre-release tape of the "Violent World" LP that we got at Ivar Matlaus Bokkafe back in the days, which was a magazine and music shop inside UFFA. It delt in punk, indie anarchist and other stuff and was run by the people behind Det Glade Vanvidd (band) in the beginning. I started working there late '88/'89 and worked there out '93ish. We got some more tapes from Taf, but where they went I don't know. I see of the description that there are some stuff taken from the Radio Orakel (the radio station that is on the top floor of Blitz) and some live stuff from the Bootleg scene was recorded. Most of the "Violent World" LP was recorded at Bootleg. It was a work scheme, and people worked there for benefit. The bands who played got a live video (usually not many people were there) and a live tape. Angor Wat had some stuff taped there for their RIP tape. And the Chaos UK live in Oslo clip on YouTube. A local TV station in Norway had a program that played the recordings. I had some of the recording of Disorder on an old VHS somewhere... I would dearly like to know where the archives from Bootleg got to as there should be some nuggets. At least for us that are interested in Norwegian music.
"I see there is some Black & Decker stuff that is Bengt (ex-Akutt Innleggelse and TRBNGR) band that released a 7" on Thomas/Happy Thoms label Straitjacket. Kafe Strofal or De Arbeidsløses Kaffe where a cafe that Taf worked at and booked shows at while living in Oslo. And as its mentioned it was regulary shut down by the police. T.H.C. was another Taf band, and had some songs on "Blitz Hits" comp LP and "Blitz Live Hits" tapes.
"I believe nearly everybody was in Disorder at one point. The band Disårder that became Anti Social Rejects, that also have a great 12" out (and a couple of EPs and splits) is started up by ex-members of Disorder. Steve [Allen, Disorder guitarist] quit and started playing in L.A.U.S. and after that Crossbreed with first Kenneth [Disorder drummer from approximately 1988-1993] singing and then Gunnar [guitarist for Disorder on 1991's "Pain Headache Depression" 7"]. And I saw that Sef also in Seppo Goes To Holocaust was in T.H.C. Need to check my "Blitz Hits" [compilation 2xLP from 1989 documenting the Norwegian underground music scene] to see if there is more info."
-Kjelli
