The Conflict frontman was one of the few who walked the punk walk as much as they talked it
~ Phil ~
Colin Jerwood, frontman and organiser of legendary anarcho-punk band Conflict, has passed away after a short illness, his family said in a statement released yesterday. The band also released a statement saying “As you can imagine we are struggling to find the words to describe how sad and upset we feel upon hearing of the loss of our band member and dear friend Colin. We extend our deepest condolences to James, Georgia and the rest of Colin’s family and friends. We ask that you respect their wishes and understand that we are all currently grieving a great loss”.
Jerwood, who was 63, had led Conflict since their formation in South London in 1981. The band’s first release was the 1982 EP “The House That Man Built” on Crass Records. The next year they started their own label, Mortarhate, which also released music by other artists including Hagar the Womb, Icons of Filth, Lost Cherrees, The Apostles, and Stalag 17.
Self-described as the Ungovernable Force, Colin and Conflict were in the thick of the action, whether the agenda was anti-war, animal rights or anti-capitalism. They gained notoriety for acts such as providing addresses of vivisectionists on the inside of their record sleeves, and they financially supported organisations and bust funds.
A concert at Brixton Academy in 1987, labelled The Gathering of the 5,000, with Steve Ignorant added to the line up and poet Benjamin Zephaniah enlisted to help out, was violently attacked by the police and ended in a riot that had major consequences for the band. In Colin’s own words: “Three punk bands have been the subject of parliamentary debate, The Sex Pistols, Crass and Conflict. Only one has ever been officially banned from making live appearances by order of a white paper, and that is Conflict”.
The band’s latest work, “This Much Remains”, was released only last month, and recently Colin had been working on his memoir, encompassing “Conflict, the movement, and me.”
His untimely passing is a major shock for many, and a tribute page has been created where many fans are paying their respects. “Colin and Conflict, Crass, and all the rest of those bands from the early 80s set me on the trajectory of my whole life”, wrote one contributor, “I now work for a trade union as a consequence of those politics and ethics. No compromise with the servants of power! An inspiring life Colin. Thank you”.
Another fan wrote: “I remember the day 1983 when the 16 year old me went off to buy the first album. It’s a cliche to say that a record changed your life and the way you think. But inside every cliche there’s a grain of truth. This was mine. Thanks for all the gigs, the music and the sentiment. You will always be missed.”
My personal recollection goes back to the summer of 1990, when a 17 year old version of me saw the Stone Roses play in Spike Island. I also saw Conflict play at the Marquee in Charing Cross Road. You can guess which had the bigger impact. A rare gig for Conflict at that time, they hadn’t played for a while and had to play previous gigs secretly under pseudonyms. I had only recently been introduced at school to Crass and Conflict, both bands were before my time and punk had already gone underground. It was a miracle I ever heard of them.
I’m so glad I did. The lyrics of these bands opened windows, and actually blew the bloody doors off in my case of how I thought about the world. The blinkers were off. While I found Crass to have more of an individualistic take on things, I warmed to Conflict, their desire to build a movement and their emotional take on politics and humanity. What was very important to me was Colin’s honesty about the scene he saw around him.
When I found out yesterday he had suddenly passed away, I was first in disbelief (Conflict have been touring with their new record), and then very, very sad. Colin Jerwood, the man who led a band but never wanted to be a leader (“you never wanted leaders but you treated us as such”), one of the few who walked the punk walk as much as they talked it.
He supported human rights, animal rights, class war and anti-fascism, and dealt head-on with police and state violence. There are so many stories that could be written about Colin and so many points of view, lots has been written and I’m sure lots more will be.
Recently he featured in the publication Anarcho-Punk: Music and Resistance in London 1977-1988 by David Insurrection. Colin talked about freedom, about anarchism, about hypocrisy and about the power we have and don’t realise. He turned me, a teenage council estate kid, into new ways of thinking and I will be forever grateful.
Top image: Jerwood at Punks against Cancer 5, Derby, 2017. Photo: Ian Taylor