In many ways The Mob were the archetypal anarcho punk band. Formed in Yeovil, Somerset in 1979 the band soon spent their time permanently on the road in a convoy of trucks before squatting in Brougham Road, Hackney – a street of houses that accommodated many punk and counter-culture types. Until their demise in 1983 they remained an integral part and a huge influence on the anarcho, traveller and free festival scenes.
Their first release was the 1980 Crying Again single on their own All The Madmen label, followed later that year by the Ching cassette. 1981 saw another single the hugely popular and haunting Witch Hunt soon followed by their now legendary Crass single No Doves Fly Here, both taking anarcho punk into new musically unchartered waters.
1983 saw the release of their now legendary album Let The Tribe Increase, an album that saw them moving away from the constraints of the punk sound as they continued to push the musical boundaries. This trend continued in their epic single The Mirror Breaks.
The Mob’s invlovement with the counterculture saw them playing gigs with archetypal hippies Here & Now and Androids of Mu as well as being actively involved in the Persons Unknown and Centro Iberico anarchist centres and the Black Sheep Housing Co-operative.
Eventually The Mob dissolved with Joseph Porter joining Zounds before founding Blyth Power.
Let The Tribe Increase includes the full album, both tracks from the Mirror Breaks 7″ and a previously unheard demo version of Stay, all professionally remastered. Packaged in a 12-page booklet it contains a band history and the events that surrounded the recording of the album by Kill Your Pet Puppy fanzine editor Alistair Livingston.
