Combat 84

One of Oi!s most legendary acts, this British act band formed in 1981, and went on to achieve national prominence and controversy. Comprised of vocalist "Chubby" Chris Henderson, bassist Depford John, guitarist Jim and drummer Brownie the band's first gig was in support of Last Resort at Walmer Castle in Peckham. Their first recording session gave birth to the now classic tracks "Soldier" and "Combat 84." This two-song demo was recieved well by the music press and the band was dubbed the "new sham 69." In 1982 the band released the "Orders of the Day" ep, which began to earn the band a good deal of controversy with such perceived right leaning songs such as "Rapist" advocating capital punishment for the like and "Right to Choose" which included the infamous line "better to be dead, than fucking red." Bassist Depford later described the song as a tongue and cheek jab at trendy left wingers and an homage to Vietnam War movies, like 'Apocalypse Now.' However, the mainstream music press was more interested in Henderson's previous involvment with right wing political groups, even though the band was comprised of members with diverse political leanings. In 1892 the BBC featured the band on their '40 Minutes' television show, following the band through a day in the life. From jam sessions to walking around the town, the interview was almost exclusively focused on Chubby Chris and his political leanings. The segment concluded with the now famous fight at a Combat show, which resulted in rival soccer crews throwing chairs and beating down one another, much to the dismay of Henderson and the band who tried to stop the madness to no avail. After '40 Minutes' things for C84 became difficult as one could imagine and the band called it quits not long after.

Henderson went on to be the notorious leader of the Chelsea Headhunters soccer firm and co-wrote a novel entitled 'Who Wants It?' with Colin Ward. He now lives in Thailand where he operates a bar called Dogs' Bollocks. Depford went on to roadie for the UK subs and re-formed C84 in 2000 releasing the "Tooled Up" ep, taking over vocal duties minus Henderson. Depford has dismissed the often thrown about charge that C84 were an RAC or Nazi band and his defense is well founded. Not only were there no racist lyrics, but the band never flew the banner of any organization. To this day Combat 84, despite their short career, remain one of the stahlwarts of the Oi! and skinhead scene and have been covered by an endless list of bands. May their legend live on.




"Chubby" Chris Henderson - Vocals
John Depford - Bass / Vocals on Tooled Up E.P.
Jim - Guitar
Brownie - Drums

Orders of The Day E.P.

1.Violence
2.Combat 84
3.Poseur
4.Skinhead

Rapist E.P.


Send in The Marines

1.I'm Alright
2.1982
3.Violence (Remix)
4.Trouble
5.F 82123
6.Barry Prudom (Remix)
7.Soldier
8.Rapist(Live)
9.World War(Live)
10.Poseur(Live)
11.Combat 84(Live)
12.Right To Choose(Live)
13.Skinhead(Live)

Charge of The 7th Cavalry

1.Rapist
2.Violence
3.Combat 84
4.Skinhead
5.F82123
6.Poseur
7.1982
8.World War
9.Trouble
10.Soldier
11.Rapist (Encore)
12.Combat 84 (Encore)

Orders of The Day

1.Violence
2.Combat 84
3.Poseur
4.Skinhead
5.Rapist
6.Barry prudom
7.Right to chose
8.I'm allright
9.1982
10.Trouble
11.F82123
12.Soldier
13.Violence (remix)
14.Barry produm (remix)

Tooled Up E.P.

1.We're Back
2.It's Kickin' Off
3.Politically Incorrect
4.Whatever Happened To My Country?
5.Getting The Fear