Major Accident

Major Accident is a UK punk and oi group from Darlington, North East England, also known as Accident. The band forms in late 1977 and becomes associated with the “clockwork punk” style, taking visual and thematic influence from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. Their image includes bowler hats, white shirts, white trousers and black boots, and their artwork often uses stark black-and-white designs, later adding red after the group reforms.

History

The band records its first studio material in the early 1980s. That session includes the single Terrorist Gang, with the B-side Self Appointed Hero, and an early version of Massacred Melodies, which the band records again in 1981 and uses as the basis for its first LP. A planned release of Warboots reaches test-pressing stage before the group signs to Step Forward Records, which also releases its first single, Mr Nobody.

A UK tour supporting Chelsea helps promote the early releases. The band later has UK Independent Chart entries with Fight To Win, which reaches number 24, and Leaders of Tomorrow, which reaches number 19 and features drummer Evo, formerly of The Angelic Upstarts and The Blood, and later a member of Warfare. Respectable, featuring drummer Gareth Jones, also appears on Flicknife Records, as does the album A Clockwork Legion, by which time the group shortens its name to Accident.

The live album Tortured Tunes – the Official Bootleg appears in 1984 and reaches number 24 on the UK Independent Chart. Around this time the band appears on BBC2 performing three songs live. An American label, Toxic Shock, releases the follow-up album ...Crazy! in 1985, shortly before the band splits up.

Reformation and later activity

Major Accident reforms in 1996, returning to its full name. The reunion is marked by the studio album The Ultimate High on We Bite Records, followed by the seven-inch single Representation Not Reality on Upstart Productions in 1999. The group’s final release is the split album Cry Of Legion with Welsh street punks Foreign Legion. Live work continues after the reformation, including a performance at New York’s CBGB in 2001 with a clockwork punk theme. The band’s activity later becomes limited after drummer Laze is involved in a motorcycle accident, and it plays only a few concerts each year.

Style and significance

Major Accident is known for linking punk and oi music with the imagery of A Clockwork Orange. The group extends this theme into references to Beethoven, including interpretations of the Ninth Symphony in the pieces The Glorious 9th and The March. The band’s association with clockwork punk also influences fans’ dress and its record sleeves, making the visual identity as central as the music itself.