Shitlickers write-up from Game of the Arseholes zine #3

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Here is an excerpt of an article I wrote in spring 2000 for my zine, Game of the Arseholes. The article was about some rare records (The Clay 7", E.A.T.E.R. 7", YDI 7", Mornington Crescent 7", etc.) I included some information I had recently obtained from a Swedish friend whom you might know as the proprietor of the Ken Rock record label. Not everything in this article is accurate, especially the pressing information, but it was the best information available at the time. This article and one I published in Maximum Rocknroll the next year about Swedish hardcore are, I believe, two sources for much of the pre-Wikipedia, pre-blog conventional wisdom on The Shitlickers. Today, I'd estimate I stand by approximately 80% of what is contained in this piece. The enthusiasm for the music, however, is undiminished.

From Game of the Arseholes #3:

Last time, I wrote about Sweden’s lack of female-fronted hardcore bands. There were a decent amount of bands with female bassists and such, but no female singers. One melodic band I forgot to mention is LIVIN’ SACRIFICE who had a track on the awesome comp LP "Vagra For Helvete." They also released two 7"s and a 12" that are spiteful but melodic punk. And this band was completely female!

But get ready for some news that’ll break your face: when they first started, the SHITLICKERS had a female singer in addition to Lasse. I don’t know of any other hardcore band from 1981 that had both male and female vocals (unless you count all the peace-punk stuff). It doesn’t appear that they recorded anything with this line-up, but my friend Stefan saw the SHITLICKERS open up for the EXPLOITED in 1981. The other singer’s name was Anna. At that show, Lasse got very mad at her because she stood still and sang too quietly. I assume she got the boot soon afterwards. Oh well. Not many people outside of Sweden know the history of the Shitlickers, but a lot of us think they’re the best band ever, so I’m glad to bring some new information to the world. That’s what GOTA is all about.

By the way, since I talk about them so much, I might as well list the info on the SHITLICKERS. Some people don’t realize that the SKITSLICKERS are the same band. That’s the name in Swedish. Under that name, they released the 7" in Sweden only, limited to 500 copies. It’s definitely the hardest version to find. Its cover is the one of the dude getting stabbed in the gut. It says "GBG 1982" on the bottom because the band was from Göteborg and it was released in ‘82 (duh.) The second press, also difficult to find, was a red sleeve with the awesome drawing we know and love: of the band killing cops, ripping one cop in half lengthwise. This sleeve is 11½" long, so it only goes halfway up the back. Now, they’re going by SHITLICKERS for the foreign audience. The most common version is the white export sleeve with a slightly different drawing and a full back. Both these presses were released on Malign Massacre Records which brought us export presses of the HEADCLEANERS as well. All three presses have the same furious, chaotic, and urgent four songs. The bassist went on to front ANTI-CIMEX before his fall from grace (his latest band is dodgy to say the least). Distortion reissued the 7" with an unreleased 2nd7", all on a picture disk LP. Unfortunately, the 2nd 7" is not nearly as good as the first; it’s much more generic Discharge style, though it’s still great. For me, the SHITLICKERS sum up the energy, anger, and urgency of hardcore in just four short songs. They pushed the envelope and we can never forget them.