Whereas Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, and Billy Idol became punk icons for Generation X in the early MTV days, Bertie Marshall aka “Berlin” mostly pursued writing and poetry. Part of this same cadre of Sex Pistols followers in the late 70s called the Bromley Contingent, Marshall didn’t stick in a band for too long.
After a brief stint fronting the post-punk pioneers Behaviour Red — they released one single in ‘82 and went on a mini-tour — he managed to create a body of music, which, with the benefit of nearly 40 years of hindsight, showcases how ahead of the curve he was with forging a discordant but rhythmic post-punk sound.
His upcoming record Exhibit from Upset The Rhythm blends his post-punk origins with the poetry and spoken word he would be better known for during and after the ‘90s.
His first single off this album, “Shaking Johnny” from last month, features a dark, steady rhythm that draws a line to modern post-punk and industrial-sounding bands — like Mandy, Indiana or Black Midi — indicating Marshall was ahead of his time. He paints a full picture with steady, repetitive drums, a wall of guitar feedback, no more than a handful of notes from the bass, and, especially, his voice.
Exhibit’s next single “Ke Ke Ke Ke Ke Ya” shows the performance poetry Marshall would be known for nearly a decade later but with enough musical flavor that John Peel spun it after the band released it as a 7”. After first releasing this single as Behaviour Red’s first and only release in 1982, Ears to Feed is proud to premiere the single today.
Exhibit collects Marshall’s songs and spoken word tracks from his long creative run in the 80s-90s for the first time, and the record will be available on October 29 from Upset The Rhythm.