GBH, also known as Charged G.B.H, is a hardcore punk band from Birmingham,… Read Full Bio ↴GBH, also known as Charged G.B.H, is a hardcore punk band from Birmingham, England. The band formed in 1978, and were known as Charged GBH from their formation until 1984. The band's original lineup was Colin (Col) Abrahall on vocals, Colin (Jock) Blyth on guitar, Ross Lomas on bass, and Andrew Williams on drums. The band mostly toured in England during the 1980s, however they did make several excursions out of the island, including several tours to the United States. Some of their most famous shows that they played during the 1980s were at the 100 Club in Oxford Street in London. They are considered by many to be pioneers in the UK punk rock genre, specifically in hardcore.

1982 saw GBH's first LP, City Baby Attacked By Rats. The album was marked lyrically with harsh criticism of British and European culture, typical of UK punk. It was also full of violence, morbidity (especially in reference to the song "Passenger On The Menu", which describes in graphic detail the experiences of the passengers on the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571), atheism, nihilism, social anarchism, and generalised absurdity. However not political, the album's lyrics do seem remarkably socially aware. This kind of content would later follow up in later GBH releases. Musically, the album was loud, and fast, with most songs staying under three minutes, typical of the hardcore punk genre. This is also a trademark of future GBH releases.

In 1983 the band changed their name to simply GBH, arguably just because the word "Charged" in front of their name had dropped from the lingo of many of their fans. (The name change was announced at a gig in the now defunct 'Golden Eagle' public house, where GBH were playing along with ex-Hawkwind sax player Nik Turner's 'Inner City Unit').

GBH are known to be pioneers of the UK82 second wave of British punk rock in the 1980s, along with fellow pioneers Discharge, Broken Bones, The Exploited, The Varukers. and The Skeptix.

The band has, for the most part, kept true to its original punk rock roots since its formation, unlike many other former punk bands, especially hardcore bands, who later formed the Post-Punk genre of the mid to late 80s. However the band has experimented with, alongside many other hardcore punk bands, notably The Exploited, a bit of what is known as metal crossover. Metal Crossover is when punk bands use riffs of heavy metal in their music, usually just as a break in the monotony of the traditional two and three chord, punk rock sound. Some punk rock purists argue that when punk bands do this they break from the original punk sound, and therefore become simply metal bands. The band, though, maintains that they are, in fact, still a punk rock band. However, the band has done this quite a lot, especially experimenting with it heavily in their 1992 release Church of the Truly Warped. This sound carried over even into their latest LPs. However, they have been falling back more on their original punk rock sound roots recently.

The band is still active and touring, even among many circulating rumours about a break up. The band maintains a strong cult following both in England and the rest of Europe, as well as in America and Japan, where some say that punk is still in its elementary to mid-stages.

Dead On Arrival
GBH Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tracks in his arm made him a man,
No-one could understand.
Each night he'd go out shooting skag,
Met a pusher who sold him a bag.

That's why he was
Dead on arrival

Ran out of money so he stole a car,
Tried to run but didn't get far.
Sent to prison, no turning back,
Saw his arm, weaned him off smack.

Out on parole tried to keep calm,
Finally died with a needle in his arm.

Yes out on parole, tried to keep calm,
Finally died with a needle in his arm.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to GBH's Dead on Arrival present a cautionary tale about the destructive and deadly consequences of drug use. The singer of the song is a young man who, in search of a sense of identity and power, starts using heroin, or "skag," and becomes addicted. The "tracks in his arm" become a symbol of his addiction, measuring his consumption like a badge of honor but also isolating him from those who cannot relate to his struggles. His addiction takes a turn for the worse when he steals a car, a desperate act that lands him in prison. The experience of incarceration seems to give him a chance at rebuilding his life, as he undergoes heroin withdrawal and is, presumably, given the tools to stay sober. When he gets out on parole, however, he is unable to stay away from drugs and dies tragically of an overdose.

Line by Line Meaning

Tracks in his arm made him a man,
Having drug track marks on his arms made him feel tough and manly to some extent.

No-one could understand.
Nobody could comprehend why he would willingly become a drug addict and risk his life.

Each night he'd go out shooting skag,
Every night he would go out and inject heroin into his veins.

Met a pusher who sold him a bag.
He met a drug dealer who sold him a bag of heroin.

That's why he was
This is the reason why he had a tragic end.

Dead on arrival
He died as soon as he arrived at the hospital due to his heroin overdose.

Ran out of money so he stole a car,
He resorted to stealing a car because he couldn't afford to buy more heroin.

Tried to run but didn't get far.
He attempted to flee from the law but didn't make it very far.

Sent to prison, no turning back,
He was sent to jail and there was no reversing the consequences of his criminal actions.

Saw his arm, weaned him off smack.
When he saw his own arm with drug track marks, he became disgusted and got himself off heroin.

Out on parole tried to keep calm,
When he was released on parole, he attempted to remain composed and avoid making more mistakes.

Finally died with a needle in his arm.
In the end, he tragically passed away while he was using heroin.

Yes out on parole, tried to keep calm,
Again, when he was released on parole, he attempted to stay calm and avoid any more missteps.

Finally died with a needle in his arm.
Sadly, he ultimately died while he was still actively using heroin.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDREW PAUL WILLIAMS, COLIN DEREK ABRAHALL, COLIN ROBERT BLYTH, ROSS ANDREW LOMAS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS