Description

This is from the bands website. It may not be 100% true!!

Rock Royalty The Charlemagnes roll back the years on an album thats not so much a rejection of nostalgia but a glorious embrace of what lies ahead (Morning Star 5 star review)

Raritan Records are proud to present: the long-awaited long-playing debut album from garage-proto-punks the Charlemagnes, Three Chords and a Half-Truth.

Long considered missing in action, with only rare appearances on vinyl marking their fragmented history, the Charlemagnes returned in 2017 as if from the dead, with a fresh line-up and a revitalised set of old and new material. Rather than piece together a patchwork of vintage recordings, this album is the fruit of a fresh session recorded live and raw at Marketstall Studio, not far from their current South London stomping ground.

Formed in the shadow of the South Brunswick meat-packing district, the Charlemagnes were just one of scores of New Jersey bands to emerge from the late Sixties garage boom. Later relocating to the South Bronx they pursued a career on the fringes of the NY pre-punk/glam scene following the dissolution of their original line up.

The same restless impulse brought original vocalist Johnny Ghostly and guitarist Marty Polpette to the UK in the 1970s, where the band eventually petered out in the post-punk era, due to internal wrangling, poverty, substance abuse and industry hostility.

But rock n roll, like life, finds a way: the band never stopped writing, becoming better, angrier, wiser and stranger. Ghostly retains a non-performing role in the band as lyricist while the current Charlemagnes line up features Marty Jr on live vocals and guitar, augmented by several stalwarts of the London DIY scene rumoured to be performing pseudonymically for contractual reasons.

Three Chords and a Half-Truth furthers the Raritan Records mission to bring you the choicest rare garage sounds with twelve slices of prime snotcore from this legendary band. Pre-order now on heavyweight 180g vinyl. Limited-pressing 12 LP includes full inner sleeve featuring lyrics and liner notes, complimentary CD and download code.