Special Duties

Special Duties are a punk band from Colchester, England, formed in October 1977 by Steve Green, Steve Norris and Nigel Baker. Green and Norris are also known as Arrogant and Duty. The group starts out as school-age punks after seeing The Adverts play in Colchester, then begins with a line-up in which Arrogant sings, Duty plays guitar and Baker plays bass, despite the members not initially being able to play instruments.

Early name and first shows

The band first plans to call itself X-pelled, but changes its name after coming into possession of a box of badges printed with the words Special Duties, which had been taken from a school in Colchester. Its first live appearance is a short free performance in Colchester, promoted through the punk underground and played in the Marks & Spencer loading bay beneath the shopping precinct. The set lasts around fifteen minutes and is built around the only song the band knows at the time, “There’ll Be No Tomorrow”.

Recordings and label history

Bart Povah joins in 1980, when the band records its first demo and gains a deal with Charnel House Records. It soon moves to Rondelet Records and adds drummer Stuart Bray. The second EP for Rondelet, “Police State”, spends two months in the indie chart and leads to the recording of the debut album 77 in 82. The band later releases “Bullshit Crass”, its biggest-selling single, and then “Punk Rocker” in 1983. After poor distribution and loss of support from major independent distributors, the group breaks up later that year.

Breakup, reformation and later work

About twelve years later, Captain Oi! Records reissues 77 in 82, and the response leads to a reunion performance at Fuck Reading at the Brixton Academy in 1995. The band stays together after that. In 1997 it releases “Wembley Wembley! (Wembley here we come)” to mark Colchester United reaching the final of the AutoWindscreens Shield at Wembley. The release also includes “Up the U’s!”, a song about Colchester United that is still sung at the club, plus brief interviews with players including Garrett Caldwell, Joe Dunne and former captain Karl Duguid. In July 1998 the band plays CBGB’s in New York and issues the show as Live at CBGB’s 1998.

Collaborations, charity work and recent line-up

In 2007 Special Duties re-records “Up the U’s!” with local band Koopa and a separate song, “Stand Up For Col U”, with vocals from Colchester United players Jamie Cureton, Chris Iwelumo, Wayne Brown, Karl Duguid, Kevin Watson, Pat Baldwin, Kevin McLeod and Dean Gerken. The single raises money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. In 2012 Steve Arrogant leaves, with Steve Duty moving from guitar to vocals and Dave Sadler taking over on bass. In 2014 the band signs to Jailhouse Records, which releases two items from its catalogue. It continues to gig and record, including festival appearances and a US tour in 2016. In 2020 it records a 14-track album, Seven Days A Week.