Artist: The Forgotten Rebels, Album: Nobodys Hero's, Song: Dickwart

"Well I'm a dickwart mama, I'm here to stay."  The Forgotten Rebels are a punk band from Hamilton, Ontario.  They were formed by front man, Mickey DeSadist, in 1977.  While Mickey was obviously drawn to the growing punk movement in Britain that featured bands like The Sex Pistols.  He was also a fan of glam rock and specifically, the theatrics employed by such artists as David Bowie, T.Rex and Gary Glitter.  The Rebels released a couple of independent EP's in 1977 and 1978 before their debut full length album in 1979 on local label/record store, Star Records.  They would follow it up with their cult classic album, This Ain't Hollywood, in 1981 which featured their hit, Surfin' On Heroin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBr_zMctqRA&feature=related).  The band also tipped their hats to some music of the past by covering Barry McGuire's hit, Eve Of Destruction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt5IEGYaBds) as well as The Drifters classic, Save The Last Dance For Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLP2UoPiqj8&feature=related).  Much like punk itself, the band's career was hardly predictable or stable.  The band signed with Capital Records during the late eighties but have gone through numerous line up and label changes over the last 35 years.  To their credit (or perhaps to Mickey's), they have continued to release some great music.  Nobodys Hero's was their last studio album of new material which was released in 2000.  This is a really good album with some strong tunes like Hockeynite and this beauty, Dickwart.  The band played shows in Europe as well as the U.S. in support of this release.  The Forgotten Rebels are arguably one of the finest punk outfits to ever record in Canada and they are responsible for building the foundation of the genre here at home.  Mickey's production work with bands like The Wet Spots (see blog 5/13/11) as well as his overall support for younger bands such as The Problem Children (see blog 11/24/11), helped build a scene that still exists today.  Their music is timeless as well and hopefully we'll see some more re-issued material that will keep their legacy alive for a great many more years.  The band today includes Mickey along with Jeffrey Campbell, Dan Cassale and former Sven Gali (see blog 10/31/10) bassist, Shawn Maher.  They have 13 releases to date and have shared stages with bands like The Clash, Iggy Pop as well as The Ramones.  You can keep tabs on them at http://www.forgottenrebels.com/.  You can hear a sample of the song, Dickwart, as well as purchase the album, Nobodys Hero's, on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!