Delta 5 retrospective!

"Can I have a taste of your ice cream?
Can I lick the crumbs from your table?
Can I interfere with your crisis?
No! Mind your own business!"

That is the first verse from one of my favorite new wave/post-punk songs, "Mind Your Own Business" by the Delta 5. Delta 5 were a postpunk band from Leeds, England, the same place as Gang Of Four and the Mekons. Consisting of three women and two men, they had a distinctive two-bassist attack that added to their abrasive funk sound. They put out three singles on the Rough Trade label, including "Mind Your Own Business" and "You," which had some biting and sarcastic lyrical content. They broke up shortly after releasing their only album, See The Whirl (on the Pre label) in 1981.

Delta 5's body of work mostly went out of print outside of "Mind Your Own Business" or "You" popping up on the occasional New Wave compilation. ("Mind" would also be expertly covered by Chicks On Speed in 2000.) That is about to change with the US label Kill Rock Stars, which plans to release a compilation of their work titled Singles and Sessions 1979-81. It will consist of their three Rough Trade singles, as well as some John Peel and Richard Skinner BBC Radio sessions and some additional live tracks. Singles and Sessions 1979-81 will be released on Janurary 25, 2006; IMHO that's something to look forward to in the new year!

Allmusic.com on Delta 5

Trouser Press on Delta 5

An interview with bassist Ros Allen in 1996.