Formed in ’78, Bristol’s Vice Squad grew to become one of the most successful bands of the second British punk era. They made powerful music with bitterly intense lyrics and had — until she departed, following a disagreement over animal rights — a major focal point in lead singer Beki Bondage. No Cause for Concern is a passable debut; Stand Strong Stand Proud is a first-rate punk effort marked by driving, punchy sound and Beki’s demanding voice. The material is better developed, showing Vice Squad to be evolving without sacrificing their original ideas. The 7-inch Stand Strong EP reprises two of the album’s better tracks — the title song (which shamelessly lifts its intro riff from the Misfits’ “Astro Zombies”) and “Rock’n’Roll Massacre” — and adds two non-LP tunes, including the briskly executed “Tomorrow’s Soldier.”
The Vice Squad pressed on following Bondage’s departure to form Ligotage, but never with the same level of British success.