The Business / Brain Failure

In between punk showcases such as Holidays in the Sun, old British codgers like the Business have to find something else with which to bide their time. And lucky for St. Louis, these street-punks fancied more gigs in the States before the liver of lead singer Mickey Fitz snuffs it for good. Appealing to hooligans of all persuasions, the Business have been writing songs about their favorite pastimes ("Drinking and Driving," "Smash the Discos") since 1979. But the band's authentic working-class angst — arranged in sets of simple, stiff drum beats topped with Fitz's snarling, sing-a-long chants — has carried them through waves of post-punk mutations. Rockers tired of dated British gripes about queuing on the dole should show up early to check out China's first punk export, Brain Failure — 'cause if unemployed Brits thought they had it tough, then imagine what it takes to keep a Mohawk up under Communist rule.