Sometimes it sucks listening to 20-year old punk rock that comes from a completely different country. Makes it a little hard to understand some of the allusions.
First of all, someone told me that SPG stands for Scottish Police Guard. I certainly hope that’s right, but if it’s not, I’m sure someone will correct me.
Now, why do all these old punk bands hate the SPG so much? I understand the songs that talk about the police in general, plenty of American bands have songs like that. But I’ve never heard an American band sing about the NYPD specifically. Is/was the SPG known for corruption, use of excessive force, or something like that? Does it still exist? (My last question that had to do with a British punk song, I found out that the entity in question didn’t exist anymore.)
Oh and this doesn’t have anything to do with punk music, but why is it called Scotland Yard? Unless I’m very much mistaken, it’s not in Scotland is it?
Wow man SPG is the Special Patrol Group, don’t want to mess with these guys… (Riot Police) full body armour, riot sheilds, go round in armoured vans attending civil disturbances, fights in town centres.
Known to pile in and ask questions later…snatch squads for agitators on marches
Only eclipsed by SO19 armed reponse units (SWAT)
It’s a lovely country England really we all sleep peacefully in our beds thanks to these guys.
The SPG were disbanded some time in the 80s with a reputation for heavy handed, boot first policing and several accusations of racism. One of the most notorious incedents was the Blair Peach killing
The original Metropolitan Police Force was housed in Great Scotland Yard (1829)on the site of part of Whitehall Palace which had been used as lodgings for the Kings of Scotland
I help run quite a ruff pub in the centre of Manchester we call it fight club.
On match days, soccer, we normally have about 3 vans parked outside.
The real bad lads, of the police world in Manchester centre any way, are the Tactical Aid Squad. It’s a van that drives around with about 16 coppers in it all in riot gear. When we’ve had need to press the panic buttons under the bar they’re the first ones to turn up.
There was a sketch in the 80’s satirical BBC show Not the Nine O’Clock News in which a policeman, PC Savage, was being reprimanded by his superior for repeatedly arresting a black man on the most ridiculous grounds. The punchline was “There’s no room for men like you in my force, Savage. I’m transferring you to the SPG”.
Don’t dis the punk rock, Exapno Mapcase I’m from America, the birthplace of rock n roll, and punk has many of the same qualities- the simple, catchy melodies, the even simpler lyrics, a good beat. And how can you not like a musical genre that advocates political activism and heavy drinking?
