The Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them “one of the period’s most politically charged and thought-provoking groups”. The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the punk subculture and skinhead subculture.
The band released eight studio albums in their first decade. After a brief split they reformed in 1988, and a number of times subsequently, with new albums appearing in 1992, 2002, 2011, and 2016. More than two decades after its release, their debut single, “The Murder of Liddle Towers”, was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.