Blaggers ITA were a punk band that wore their no-nonsense anti-fascist politics on their sleeve. For a while, they were the darlings of the music press. And why not? Their music was immediate and intense, they had a very relevant message and had an image that held your attention. However, an ill-fated encounter between lead singer Matty and a journalist soured the media’s love affair. I guess if you punch a journalist, the other journalists will take a step-back. The other fact, I guess, is that political bands do not sell a lot of records irrespective of how important the message is. After signing to EMI, at some point I guess, the record label wanted their investment to pay off. Their ‘Bad Karma’ album gave a hint of where they could go as a band but it wasn’t to be. Sadly, after producing some good singles on a new independent label, lead singer Matty suffered an overdose and died. That is just a quick, potted history and their back catalogue is worth checking out. Anyway, here’s johnny.