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The Partisans formed in the U.K. in late 1979. Led by vocalist Rob Harrington, the band also included drummer Mark Harris, bassist Louise Wright, and guitarist Andy Lealand. The unit made an immediate splash in the thriving punk and Oi! scene of the day with the 1981 single "Police Story," and issued the 7" "17 Years of Hell" soon after. No Future signed them, and the band churned out a self-titled 1983 LP for the label to capitalize on its success, but it was a hurried affair and didn't do very well. Wright departed in 1983 and was replaced by Dave Parsons, who joined the group on the Blind Ambition single that same year. He soon split, however, and the Partisans continued on as a trio. Time Was Right appeared in 1984; its punk-ish studio material was augmented by recordings from a Brixton gig the previous year. Naturally, the album tanked, and by 1985, the Partisans were drifting in limbo. This lasted until 1999, when fan interest in the band sparked a reunion of original members Lealand and Harrington. A best-of appeared from Captain Oi! in 2000, and the militant three-song EP Hysteria followed a year later (the EP was issued in the U.S. by TKO with the title So Neat). A round of live dates continued to spark interest in the group.
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