Tony Shaw was the original drummer for the ANWL joining the band in 1980, along with Chris Elvy on bass, Magoo on guitar and Animal on vocals.

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1. Please could give us a bit of background info on yourself (where you were born/raised/educated etc)?

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Tony "Born in London in 1958 to RAF parents so lived 3 years at a time in different postings around the world. Aged 9 I was sent to boarding school in the UK (Ardingly College), partly paid for by the RAF, as the locations my Dad was posted to had limited education facilities. I thus because a public school boy, which put me at contrast to the others in the band and 99% of our fellow punks. I left the school at 17 having failed just about every examination taken, but had the ‘benefit’ of a posh voice and a positive attitude."

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2. From what age did you start to become interested in music, which bands were you into?

Tony "Loved music from the earliest memory. First Single was Yellow Submarine , and first album was Hello...Status Quo. In my final years at school , I moved from Elton John to David Bowie as a preference but by the time I had left school I was into Sex Pistols, Clash, UB Subs , Sham 69 , but equally loved The American bands, The Ramones, Blondie and The Talking Heads. Oddly though , I always loved a chord that made me shiver...The Shadows for eg...

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3. Were you ever into any of the punk bands at the time - which ones made the biggest impression on you?

Tony "Sex Pistols and The Ramones..Couldnt get enough of them .Live changing in so many ways

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4. When did you learn to play the drums, and who/which bands inspired you to play?

Tony "I never really learnt. I was shit and it didn’t matter.

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5. Could you tell us about the early formation of ANWL - how and when did you form the band? Did you know Chris Exall before forming the band?

Tony "This would have been in 1977/8 I had met Chris some months before through motorbikes. We were both bikers and Tunbridge wells had a lot of bikers, all in different groups rather than gangs. We often would overlap at The Castle (as it was named at the time) in town and met there. One day Chris and I were sitting together and somehow got onto the idea of starting a band. Punk was well established by then and bands were popping up all over the place, most of them rubbish too so we got to thinking we could do it too. He played guitar already but needed others of course. We got hold of Chris Elvy and I was nominated Drummer because I could afford the drum kit and Chris on bass as I think he had an idea what to do. I had never played before but Chris gave me some basic lessons. All he wanted was a beat which I could just about provide. We practised in a room at the back of a record shop and got some songs together and things just took off. We realised that we needed a singer so we started thinking who it could be. Nick Culmer , Animal, was a known sight in town as he was about as close to being a Hells Angel as we had seen. He was an imposing sight and we all knew he would be great to have in the band. We were however, more than a little apprehensive as he was in a group were sort of feared and certainly didn’t go near. As I remember it, and I maybe wrong, I got to be the one to go up to him and ask him if he would like to join our band . I was a bit nervous but he jumped at it. He totally embraced the whole thing and we would often end up in his flat coming up with ideas and songs and image. He totally took control of the image , though it was Chris who wrote most of the songs to start with.

From first practice to almost exactly 1 year later we played at the Lyceum, . We took that as a big source of pride.

 

6. Who came up with the band name ANWL ?

Tony "That was Chris Exall. He always loved that name. We tried on one or two occasions to think of something different because of the unwanted association with ANL , even going to the lengths of writing words down in a hat and picking some out to see if we could make a name. We remained the ANWL though it could have been the Pink Chicken Strangler...

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7. Your first gig was at St Mark's Hall in March of 1980 (is this correct?) - what sort of set list were you playing then, was it original material, or covers?

Tony "Yes it was... Flyer enclosed. My sister, Gina, had a band called the Vital Third. They actually could play and they got a good following. We shocked everyone there  as I remember it, though especially my sister who saw me playing drums for the first time. We played mainly sex pistols covers.

 

8. In recent years, Nick Culmer released the album 'Out Of Control', which was apparently a collection of early band demos from 1980.. Songs such as Loser, Landlord Is a Wanker, I Get Bored and Head in the Wall.. What can you tell us about this? Were these the songs that the band was performing live in 1980?

Tony "None of those you mention I ever played. They came later. Our songs were So What, I hate people, Animal, Streets of London, Woman etc

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The first League demos that were recorded were early versions of Wreck a nowhere , Streets of London and I Hate People - did you play on those tracks?

Tony "Yes I played on all those tracks. We sort of wrote them together, in that we played many different versions until it sounded right. We recorded a demo, and it was sent off to a record company and that lead to the decision to go more pro…A decision I did not take, as I never rated myself good enough. I only played on one demo"

 

9. Who wrote the music and lyrics for the early material - what involvement did you have?

Tony "Chris wrote most of the music...Nick came in with lyrics later on and I just gave some tweaks when we were developing them"

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10. Can you remember what the early ANWL shows were like.. any anecdotes to share?

Tony "We are taking a lot of drugs at them as time went on... Mainly speed... it certainly got us motivated. I often would finish the set and throw up... did it at the lyceum too. On many occasion Chris would turn round to me and try to get me to slow down as I was flying. God knows how we would have sounded at normal speed.  Most early shows we were supporting someone bigger, The Damned in particular. And my kit would be at the front. Capt Sensible wouldn’t let me touch his kit as I was left handed and he didn’t want me changing anything around, so mine was in front of his for our set . I used to get covered in Gob. Took me hours to clean it of the kit the next day.

I was working at a bank in the City by this point. Often when we had a London Gig , they would pick me up in Chris’ escort van with them and my kit in the back. I would change from suit to my gear and spray my hair with paint spray in a can. No wonder I am bald now.

Once on a small tour up north, Walsall I think, I had to call in sick each day to my office...In those days it was... ring ring ring... Hello? Beep beep beep as I put the money in... Hi sorry I am sick again today.... Life before mobile phones...

Staying in hotels was an excuse to be totally retarded. We smashed up a lot of rooms and were very badly behaved. I shudder at it now, but it was brilliant out of control fun. Spending time with the Damned was great though."

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11. Did the band perform many shows in 1980 (I am guessing it was just local one off gigs pretty much?)?

Tony "We played a lot. I know this because the skin on my index finger never healed. I would drum so fast and hard that I would blister the finger all the time. This was down to the fact that I had no skill or style, or consistency. We played on Tunbridge wells common and got turfed off by the police... we played in pubs, clubs and barns. It didn’t matter... The lyceum was the big one though.. after that we were known and we were very popular."

 

12. When & why did you leave the ANWL?

Tony "It was decision time. I had moved up to live in London, and came back once or twice a week to practice / play in TW. My career was taking off and the band was getting more and more popular. We did some demo tapes and they sounded great , so  after they had been sent to various places, someone wanted us to sign a recording contract. I knew that I wasn’t good enough to make it a career so I knew it was over. Chris actually called me up to fire me because he knew the score. Made it easy.  Some time before he had fired Chris Elvy as he wanted to change the look... CE was never a punk but played a good bass. We hired Winston instead who had never played the thing before but was a quick learner and looked the part. I was happy to be out as I was more focused on work by that point. I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had stayed."

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13. During your time in the band, did you record any songs.. demos etc ?

Tony "We did a demo and I was under the impression that some of those tracks were used on the first album. Sure sounded like me but cant be sure or bothered. It was basic drumming. They hired PJ who we all knew , and who’s kit I had bought some time before, and he came to many of the gigs so it was easy for him to take over. He was a proper drummer.. not like me"

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14. After the ANWL, did you go onto play in other bands.. and are you still involved musically today?

Tony "Nope. That was my 15 minutes of fame. I got recognised a lot even many years later.

One time, in 1986, in NY, I was in an after , after hours club which got raided by the police. As we were being processed this guy comes up to me and says....’Bones... WTF are you doing here... you should be in London, you have got a gig tomorrow...’

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15. Finally.. about the intro to Animal “Hello, Mrs shaw can I borrow your lawnmower..” was that a reference to your mum.? (!).

Tony "As far as the Mrs Shaw comment ,yes was sort of my mum, though he often thought that my gf's mum at the time was mine ... We practiced in her barn a few times . They were quite rich and had all the toys.. Including a sit down lawn mower. "