No Detention: Craig St Leon on Criminal Class

In a review from January 1981, Gary Bushell dismissed Criminal Class as ‘too slow’ after seeing them play in North London for the first time – but I would argue they were already pointing towards a darker, heavier strain of Oi that would later come to define the genre, as it moved from the loosely defined, almost ‘fictional’ category of Bushell’s early compilations into a more concrete style of skinhead music with its own distinct traits.

No song better captures Criminal Class than ‘Fighting the System’: a slow, menacing track. The lyrics read as a call to revolution. The central breakdown, laden with foreboding, represents the insurrection, after which the same steady march resumes beneath a rising dawn.

I spoke to Craig St Leon, vocalist in what was one of Britain’s earliest skinhead Oi bands. Most photos were sourced from the excellent Oi! The Archives page and used with the admins’ permission.

Matt Crombieboy

Hi Craig, can you tell me where and how you grew up?

I grew up in Coventry. Most of my childhood was spent in an area called Tile Hill. Coventry was a pretty good city in those days – plenty of factories to work in. When I left School at 15 I was an apprentice butcher, but after a few years, I ended up in the factories. Plenty of jobs there in those days, but alas, all gone now. Very sad in a lot of ways.

Thatcher, eh?

Well, she didn’t help.

What music did you grow up with as a teenager?

Growing up, the music scene I was into early 70s was called glam rock: David Bowie, Slade, and my favourite, Cockney Rebel. My favourite album were Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars by David Bowie and Human Managerie by Cockney Rebel. I was involved in that whole Bowie boy subculture, together with Roddy from The Specials. We were known as Bowie freaks and we would hang out in the Lanchester polytechnic [now Coventry University]. There was a rock disco there on a Saturday evening, with the odd glam rock song thrown in. It was a good vibe. I would say that was around 1974, when I was 17. I loved being different – and the girls loved it too.

Can you remember skinheads in Coventry the first time round, like in the late 60s?

Now we’re talking, I loved the skinhead fashion. In 1969, I was 12 – a little bovver boy. I wore monkey boots at first, as I could never get my size for Dr Martens.

Yeah, I know that was a common problem for younger kids. Any other formative memories?

When I was younger, running away to London was the dream. I tried that too when I worked on Battersea fun fair for a while and slept rough in Clapham. Much later, that became the Criminal Class songs ‘Running Away’.

Oh, right – I thought that was about a teenage runaway girl.

There was a bit of that in the songs, because it was based on my girlfriend at the time, who came with me to London. I was 17, still a bit of a Bowie freak, and Carl Douglas was number one in the charts with ‘Kung Fu Fighting’. I wanted to be a professional boxer, and I went to see a trainer in Battersea and ended up there for a while.

You slept rough in the park, Clapham Common?

We slept rough in a disused block of flats. It was being demolished, and every morning we woke up to the sound of the wrecking ball. I should write a book, really… Anyway, the streets of London weren’t exactly paved with gold, and I couldn’t wait to get back home to Coventry.

A common experience… Moving forward to the 70s, I imagine at some point punk hit your world?

I got into punk when I was about 19. Loved it – so different and fresh. The Clash were something else. But I got back into the skinhead thing when I was 22, ten years on from when I’d been a little skinhead. I loved Sham 69 and what they stood for: the kids.

When you formed Criminal Class in 1979, you would have been one of the first all-skinhead Oi bands – predating The Last Resort by about a year, maybe even the 4 Skins by a few months.

No, I would have liked us to have been an all-skinhead band but, we were really a mixed punk and skinhead band at first. But I’d like to think we were one of the first bands with skinhead members. There were punk bands at first, and then there was bands coming through with a skinhead following, still under the punk umbrella.

Obviously though, the big thing in Coventry at the time was 2 Tone.

I never got into 2 Tone myself, but I did approach Jerry Dahmer about signing to his label. We discussed it around his flat, but it never materialised.

Did your following overlap with the 2 Tone kids in Coventry?

I would say it was different scenes. They all thought we were hooligans, and I suppose I played on it a bit by calling it thug rock. We had a bad reputation because we were skinheads. There was no fighting, but we had our own crowd and I don’t think that they ever mixed.

Many people who lived in Coventry in the early 80s remember a crowd of skins hanging out in the city centre, sniffing glue and drinking cider. They were notorious and people stayed out of their way. Did you know these kids?

I think I know who you mean, but I was too busy trying to become a pop star… I think a lot of them were part of our following, but I kept out of the city centre to avoid being chased by adoring fans.

Looking at the photos from one of your 1979 gigs at the Zodiac though, there’s all kinds of subcultures: skinheads, punks, even new romantic types.

Yeah, it was all good. No problems whatsoever.

Yet, if you listen to ‘Concrete Jungle’ by The Specials, they describe Coventry as a violent hellhole, full of NF supporters chasing people with broken bottles.

It could well have been. A good friend of our band, Satnam Singh Gill, was murdered by a skinhead. It was a Saturday, and Satnam was stabbed in a car park near to a pub we used. We were called in for questioning, but they let us go because they realised we knew him. Satnam was a photographer and a friend of our guitarist at the time. I have an album of the pics he took of us when we played at the ‘Troops Out’ movement gig in the city centre.

I imagine playing for the Troops Out [of Northern Ireland] campaign wasn’t universally popular among your following?

Well, our manager was into that. Also, the guitarist, the drummer and my good self were from Irish backgrounds. There was just a bit of hassle when we played, coming from two lads who supported Chelsea. A bit of a skirmish in the crowd, and the police were involved as it turned into quite a big shuffle. All I remember is two lads, fists clenched, wanting to fight everybody. I didn’t know them personally, but I knew of them. To me they were just typical football hooligans. Not skins, but casual types. I would say this was around 1980.

So, would it be fair to say that, for an Oi band, Criminal Class was a fairly left-leaning one?

Yes, but the thing was, even to this day, the left thought we were right-wing, and the right thought we left-wing.

But what did you think of yourself as?

Piggy in the middle. I think deep down the music establishment didn’t like us. We were the Millwall of the music scene in Coventry: no one likes us, we don’t care.

But you did play Rock Against Racism, Troops Out… Those were left-wing events.

Yes, we had to get rid of the right-wing tag, but still a lot of what we did and said was completely ignored.

There was a hilarious Nationwide TV programme about Southall and Strength Thru Oi, where the bloke quoted from your lyrics for ‘Blood on the Streets’ and made them out to be racist. To me they sound the exact opposite…

It makes me laugh, the way the song was twisted. John Peel played it on his late-night radio show – it couldn’t have been that bad. ‘Blood on the Streets’ was simply about the riots happening around the country at the time: “Black youth stand in the night, crowding together they are ready to fight, the army’s in, shooting is the rage”, and in the next verse, “white youth stand in the night…” and so on. It has to be said Coventry was pretty tame riot-wise, but it was flaring up in many other places.

You also had the song ‘Soldier’, where you call the Ireland conflict “the craziest war he’s ever seen”. Was the Ireland issue important to you?

Yes, in a way, I didn’t like the whole Northern Ireland issue. The song was inspired by a good friend of mine. He couldn’t get a job, so he signed up and was sent to Northern Ireland, where he lost his life. Myself, I have friends from both sides, and it’s a tragic situation.

The Punk 77 website claims that your bassist Fred Waight also played in a band called White Boss. What can you tell me about them?

Not a lot. Heard the name, that’s about it.

Was he playing in both bands at the same time?

No, he only joined Criminal Class mid-80.

You got your first London gigs after sending your demo to Gary Bushell, playing with the Upstarts, Infa Riot, and others. Any memories of those gigs?

Yes, when we played Southgate, North London, we did our set and buggered off to the pub. When we returned, the place was wrecked – big fight between Arsenal and Tottenham fans. As for the gig itself, I thought we went down well, but Mr Bushell had other ideas. He thought we were too much like the Angelic Upstarts, and that our songs were too slow.

But he still invited you to record a couple of tracks for Strength Thru Oi!, didn’t he?

Yes, and they’re the best two tracks on that album…

I don’t think you sounded like the Upstarts at all. Infa Riot sounded a lot like the Upstarts. But Criminal Class?

I think that if we had the breaks and maybe come out earlier, we could have got somewhere. A lot of people liked the name. Bushell knew I was a big Upstarts fan, and didn’t like the fact that the top Oi band could possibly come from Coventry, and the top ska band The Specials come from Coventry. It had to be a London thing. In fact, we had more success later on, what with the CDs and re-release of the single, merchandise etc.

Musically I actually think you were quite varied for an Oi band – the two different versions of ‘Blood on the Streets’, for example…

‘Blood on the Streets’, was originally a reggae song, and over a period of time it eventually got more beefy. I have always liked reggae. I liked Bob Marely and what he stood for, and a lot of the artists on Trojan Records.

Yeah, the Woodbine Studios demo of ‘Blood on the Streets’ has a reggae/dub feel. But the Strength Thru Oi version basically sounds like a 60s garage tune to me. A bit less distortion on the guitar, and it could be an early Kinks single.

Well, what can I say, that is a nice compliment.

Any memories of ‘Oi! The Debate’, which Bushell organised at the Sounds offices in Covent Garden?

Well, it was interesting, but I didn’t really say a lot because I was very shy and still am. I’m no good at speaking in public – hate it, a bit agoraphobic. When I sang in front of a crowd, it was a form of acting to me. I became a bit of a mad man, to cover up my shyness. My mother could not believe that I could ever sing in a band.

That’s often the case with singers. People who knew Frank Tovey/Fad Gadget tell me he was the most timid bloke ever in private, even though he could be a complete madman on stage… I heard you had some kind of trouble with Mensi from the Upstarts around that time. Can you explain what it was about?

We always wanted to put out ‘Soldier’ as our first single, and I had sent an early demo tape to Mensi. We also wanted to distance ourselves from being compared to the Upstarts. Anyway, next thing we know, the Upstarts release Last Night Another Soldier, and the cover of the single is the same as our poster for the Troops Out gig. The song itself is a lot different, but the lyrics have been influenced by our song. Anyway, we did an interview and it was mentioned that we thought the song was similar to ours. Mensi read the interview and never spoke to me again.

You never made up?

No. I tried to explain, but he didn’t want to know.

Yeah, I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but I remember 10 or 12 years ago someone brought up Criminal Class on Facebook. Mensi was in the chat, and I got the impression that he still held a grudge against you.

It looks that way. I thought he was better than that – obviously not. But it’s water under the bridge now. All I want to say is that I got misquoted on that issue.

Cool then, let’s move on to the Skunx club in London, which you played in 1982. What do you remember about the place?

I did like Skunx, a good skinhead crowd. When we played, Attila the Stockbroker was there and he took a photo of me singing, and I’m pointing to the side of my head, which was featured in Sounds. I have the picture on a t-shirt as well, and it was being sold on eBay recently.

Attila got into a bit of trouble when he played at Skunx himself, didn’t he? Some BM types took his mandoline and smashed it over his head.

I never knew that. I am lost for words on that one.

So, in the same year as you played Skunx, the Fighting the System single came out.

What a fabulous song…

Indeed. Powerful lyrics as well. Who exactly is fighting the system there?

I think that, in lots of ways, we all are. I remember when we had all that civil unrest, I was told that if things got too bad, the army were ready to jump in. I think the summer of ’81 riots had something to do with the song, but also a few other things. Basically, it’s about that idea of ‘come the revolution’. When I look at what’s happening today, I still think that song is very appropriate.

You mean because of wars and the broader political climate?

Yes – in a lot of ways we now have to watch what we say.

Well, Starmer’s government must be the most authoritarian in British post-war history. They’re having people who protest war thrown in jail on terrorism charges.

Indeed.

Shortly after the single, the band broke up – twice, I think. What happened?

If I remember correctly, Danny, the guitarist, left. I think he got a job and had some trouble at home. It can be pretty disheartening, playing gigs around the country and not really getting anywhere, so I think that all played a part.

Yet there seems to have been another demo recorded in 1984, with ‘Looking Back in Anger’, ‘Locked Away’, and ‘Out of His Head’. What was the story there?

I got a band back together with different musicians, and we made a recording. Somebody from the studio ended up putting it out as a bootleg. There were no plans for it to be released as a single, it was just something we recorded to keep busy. But we drifted apart. Rehearsing every week while trying to hold down a job takes its toll. We played just one gig with that line-up, at Polesworth Working Men’s Club. A few lads turned up looking for a fight, thinking it was going to be full of lads from Coventry…

To me, ‘Looking Back in Anger’ is a little masterpiece. It’s bleak, drab, and grim – you can feel the desperation, and I can’t think of any other Oi song quite like it.

That’s very interesting, I’ve never heard that before. ‘Looking Back in Anger’ is about a Coventry lad who took his own life because he couldn’t find a job. Someone in the band was a friend of his.

It’s my favourite Criminal Class tune, though ‘Fighting the System’ comes close.

Interesting, I must give it a listen. It’s been a while.

Why were the other two tracks from that session not included on either the Captain Oi! or the Evil Records compilation?

I honestly don’t know, they just pick and choose what they want.

Let’s talk about your comeback gig in Coventry in 2001, which was prompted by the Captain Oi! reissue of your music.

That one didn’t go well. I had a lot of trouble with that gig. The original venue pulled out, the entertainment licence had run out, and I got very drunk and couldn’t perform. I couldn’t stand up. A good friend and fan of the band took over.

I was going to ask what you thought of the other bands that night, Retaliator and Loyalty, but I guess you didn’t get to see them?

Not really, I was in a world of my own. Our gig at CBGB in New York went much better. They loved us, couldn’t get enough of us. It was mental.

Who played with you that night? Would have been The Templars by default.

I think they were on the bill somewhere, but I was more concerned with our set.

Did you follow Oi from the 1990s and 2000s onwards?

No, not really. Good days, good memories, Oi Oi. But there’s no point in playing Oi now whatsoever, it’s been and gone in my eyes.

There was a younger band in Coventry maybe 10 or 15 years ago called Skinfull. Ever heard them?

I’ve seen the name, but that’s all.

What do you listen to yourself these days?

I don’t really listen to a lot of music, which is strange, as I love music and grew up with it. I’m into Muay Thai at the moment. I like to train and keep fit.

Well, I wish you success with that. Thanks a lot for the talk, Craig.