In honour of Sam finding the Scum on the Run EP in the Headingley Oxfam bargain bin, here's some fresh scans from the 'photoshoot' we did for the cover.
The first wall down behind the Brudenell Social Club wasn't big enough so we moved onto this big area of wasteground on Cardigan Road opposite the Shell Garage. It might still be there but they built a hench set of student flats in front of it so it's hard to check.
No brief, just have a muck around and write some shit on a wall. But have our names in I suppose. Not real names though because, you know.
The eagle eyed amongst you will see that the front cover is flipped from the original image, can't remember why. And the C & H in the L4 cross is also the wrong way around due to artist error.... took some wizardry on photoshop to correct it for press.
First proper recording we did as band with Pimmy on drums and Liam on guitar. Flexual Healing Vol. 1 was technically first but that was a basement tape.
Released in 2013 on Milk Run records in the UK/EU and Video Disease records in the US.
Pics by Jonesy - @andyjonesphoto
T-SHIRT PRE ORDER (!!???)
Have you ever wanted official "THE FLEX" merchandise but haven't got any for some reason??? Well now is your chance. This bad boy is available on the bandcamp to purchase in EVERY SIZE, TODAY, and for the next 2 WEEKS.
Once it's sorted @jailhouseprintco will be screenin' them up on AS COLOUR shirts, Jones will grab them in his battered Hyundai I-20 ASAP then pack and ship 'em anywhere in the world.
Got few more gigs planned 👀
Artwork by @tinnsavage 🤝 @blixa.holden
And that's yer lot for this year 🫡
Cheers to everyone who's come out, put us on, put us up, and put up with us. The busiest year we've had in the last few years, going places we've never had the chance to and going back to more.
Not got much in the diary for next year yet, York in January, Berlin in May, London in August. Famous last words but we will cut some more tracks too.
Give us a shout if you want us to play as long as it's good and DIY, even better if it's somewhere we've never been. Provincial towns encouraged.
Pics taken by Andy (@andyjonesphoto ) from Bristol, Shrewsbury, Gothenburg, Mytholmroyd, the exhibition currently at @leedscitymuseum , and Helsinki.
Ta!!!! The Flex xxxxxxxx
Top year so far. Done more shit these first few months than we have in a while. Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, Belgium, Leeds, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, London, Brighton, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Shrewsbury. All over the shop. Nice one all. Gothenburg at the end of the month for Moral Panic Records Fest, Mytholmroyd Community Centre next up after. Details to follow, maybe some new tunes, maybe some more gigs. One foot in the rave but we're still out and about playing hard core punk music.
🫡
Impossible to put into words how formative this room in it's various layouts and incarnations has been for us as a band but more importantly for us as people, friends, and peers to the most wonderful, creative, and let's face it, really fucking weird community.
We take spaces like this for granted, even more so as we get older. While they become a more permanent fixture in our lives, our lives come less permanent and it becomes easy to say "I'll go to the next one". It happens, but like there was for us, this room has been a home for not just Leeds Hardcore, but a new generation of bands, people, and communities who have seen a physical embodiment of how a DIY space can foster a community outside of paid promoters, corporate sponsored shows, and heinous guarantees. Being able to show that in practice is an important thing that while some take for granted, others like Boom grant us, and that should never be forgotten. Boom, and what they granted us will never be forgotten.
The more commercial capital creeps into our spaces and cultural capital creeps into our community the more our spaces, our stories, and the ethics of what we stand for become lost. There is power and pride in spending almost 15 years of your life in one room knowing the small but loud community of people share your stories across the world and have the world's stories shared there.
Where else you gonna get that?
The O2 Academy?
ATTENTION PEOPLE OF SWEDEN.
Sorry.
In a freak (nude) micro scooter accident our beloved drummer PIMMY has fucked himself. We won't be playing Gothenburg and Stockholm this weekend.
Thanks to homies @actingoutsthlm and @moralpanicrecords for asking us, we were proper looking forward to it but the boy Splat Hoffman couldn't grip the crooked grind and hit the fuckin deck.
We'll figure out coming to Gothenburg in the not too distant future.
In Stockholm FATE will play instead and Sam will have as many of the MOB 47 shirts as he can stuff in his backpack. Any he can't stuff in his backpack will be posted for sale online next week.
Peace and Fucking 🫡
The Flex
1 - Moscow, 2018. This was a fucking mint trip. 2 gigs in Russia over a weekend, one in St Petersburg one in Moscow. Forever greatful to be asked and helped out along every step of the way, including not missing the train with literally 4 guys holding it back for us. Would have been fucked otherwise!
2 - Moscow
3 - Moscow
4 - St Petersberg, Russia. Standing on the frozen river where Rasputin got binned in.
5 - Moscow
6 - Sleeper train between Moscow and St Petersberg.
7 - Moscow snow
8 - Moscow subway
9 - New York, 2018.
10 - Barcelona for Ckud with the legends Meg and Mia of Rapture.
2023 bits.
1 - Squad with Bill the Merch Man and Top Driver Dan up in Bratislava.
2 - Pimmy forcing children to set up his drum set in Cologne. Very cute, think they were the sound guys kids who insisted on setting everything up. Completely wrong of course but whatever.
3 - Massive spliff hahahah. Can't even tell you where this was. Maybe Berlin.
4 - Muckin it in Scotland before Northern Unfest. First time in Scotland after 10 years of being a band lol. Love the Northern Unrest lot doing sick DIY gigs.
5 - Angels of the North - first time in Newcastle after 10 years of being a band lol.
6 - Barcelona for Ckud fest.
7 - On one in Barcelona after gig. Mad disco, Sam on one.
8 - Big man after the gig in Dublin.
9 - On one in Dublin, decent pint sesh - at Bohs football ground.
10 - Leeds Ratel connection. 11 years strong at this point 🤝 very lucky to be always welcomed in Poland with great bands and enduring friendships.
