If you’re building a GBH shelf, this bundle covers the peak of it. In 2016 the UK reissue imprint Let Them Eat Vinyl pressed the core of GBH’s early Clay Records catalog on limited red vinyl with gatefold packaging — and this listing has all three of the red vinyl titles, sealed, in one shot.
The records: Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne (1981) was GBH’s debut 12″ mini-LP on Clay, nine songs recorded at Frank Skarth Recordings in Birmingham by producer Mike “Clay” Stone — the same setup that produced Discharge’s Why? the same year. The LTETV reissue comes in a gatefold that includes the No Survivors 7″ and the Sick Boy 7″, making it the definitive physical package for this material. First pressing collectors note that the original Clay press has a different mix — no “Go!” at the top of “Race Against Time” and a louder “Pathetic” shout from Colin at the end of “Necrophilia” — but for listening purposes this gatefold pressing is the definitive format this material has ever appeared in. City Baby Attacked by Rats (1982) is the debut full-length that hit No. 2 on the UK Indie Chart and helped define the sound of UK82 alongside Discharge and The Exploited — James Hetfield has publicly credited it as foundational to his understanding of what would become thrash metal, and the lyric of “Passenger on the Menu” was lifted verbatim for the title of Metallica’s Hardwired closer “Spit Out the Bone.” Race Against Time: The Complete Clay Recordings Vol. 1 rounds out the set, pulling together GBH’s Clay-era singles and compilation appearances into a 2xLP gatefold overview.
The Let Them Eat Vinyl label has received some criticism in collector circles for inconsistent pressing quality — surface noise complaints appear in Discogs reviews. These copies are described as sealed, but worth inspecting the vinyl on arrival.
