Wednesday 7 February 2018

The Hippy Posed Engrossment

                                                         Steve Treatment pictured with Marc Bolan in 1976

A Marc Bolan & T.Rex obsessive who became fascinated by the DIY ethic of punk rock, Steve Treatment's early musical interests ran in parallel to my own. Steve's friends in the mid-seventies included post-punk noisemakers The Swell Maps, who played on his debut '5 Sided A Side' EP in 1978, albeit hidden behind the outrageous pseudonyms of Matilda Tank, Amphibious Landing Craft, Edrun Kübelwagen and RJ Half-Track. Two further Steve Treatment singles followed in 1979, each in a glorious home-made, photocopied sleeve crammed with photo montages, typewritten info and handwritten in-jokes. I bought all three of those singles at the time and I treasure them still. If I'd have had even one ounce of musical ability in 1978/9, I'm certain that I would've made a similarly glam infused, naive punk racket as Steve.

Steve Treatment died of pneumonia in 2015, at the tragically young age of 57.

Steve Treatment - The Hippy Posed Engrossment

Steve Treatment - Heaven Knows

2 comments:

Brian said...

First mention of the Swell Maps I've read on the blogs in 2018. Wonderful. Looking forward to listening to the Treatment songs. I think these may be new to me.

Rickety Rackety said...

I don't know this gentleman but I like his style. So sad.

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