band from New Mills, Derbyshire, England, formed in 1980 producing albums until 1983. The original
lineup consisted of Carl Fisher (vocals), Charlie Howe (percussion), Nidge Miller (
), and Neil "Mackie" McLennan (bass). The band had success in the
indie charts in the early 1980s. With both
and skinhead members, they were enthusiastically championed by Sounds magazine writer Garry Bushell. They had sent him their demo tape early in 1981. Bushell who labeled them Oi!, was impressed enough to put two of their tracks on that year's Carry On Oi compilation, Nation On Fire and Youth. He helped them secure a deal with the record
label
No Future. When the band slept at his family home on the Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke, a rough south east London council estate, he recalls them being "freaked out by being in a real concrete jungle" (Bushell On The Rampage). Guitarist Alan "Nidge" Miller would later go on to denounce Bushell, but they reconciled before his death. The band signed to
No Future in 1981, and their first release was the 7" EP All Out Attack. Their debut album Voice of a Generation received a five star review from Bushell in Sounds.
After Fisher and McLennan had a disagreement, Fisher and Howe formed their own band. In 1983 they produced Second Empire
Justice on the
No Future label with Tim Harris (
guitar, keyboards), crediting Mackie. Because of its departure into post
punk and new wave characteristics it did not do well with the original Oi! fan audience. The album was commercially unsuccessful at the time, the
No Future label sank, because
Blitz was their main income, and with it the Fisher and Howe arrangement. According to Miller, the band split up, because the original members had no interest in "touring, plus they were never really into the
music".
It was Miller alone who produced the 1989 album The Killing Dream playing all instruments (guitars, bass, drums) with Gary Bassnett handling the vocals. Decades after the original
Blitz lineup split, Miller recruited new members including Paul Lilley on drums and performed concerts under the
Blitz moniker. On 10 February 2007, Miller was struck by a car and died on impact when "wandering into the freeway" after a show in Austin, Texas. "With just two dates left on the month-long tour" Alan Paul Nigel Miller was 48 years old when he died. In 2011, bassist Neil "Mackie" McLennan moved to
guitar and formed the band "Epic Problem", based in New Mills. They have released two EPs and one full-length album.
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