Self portrait

Self Control was a 'concept' more than a group, set up in 1977 by Mancunian Dermot O'Keeffe (Dok). With a fluid line-up (and for a time, a fluid name - Total Control, Lack Of Control etc), Self Control were different almost every time they played or rehearsed. They released an eponymous, and now very rare album in 1981. The audio samples from this page are from a live performance at Islington's Hope & Anchor on 19th May 1979 where the line-up was Dok on vocals and guitar and James Dutton (now of Motion Records) on guitar, drum machine and backing vocals. They are joined on one song (on guitar) by Bernie Doyle and by someone else who's name they can't remember. [Actually we think it was Russell - Ed] This was the third week of a one month residency supporting the ill-fated Local Operator who, a month later, were supported at West Hampstead's Raiway Hotel by U2 playing their first (?) gig in the UK, the next week by the Cure playing their first (?) gig in London. At these Hope & Anchor performance Self Control would begin by playing 20 minutes of taped BBC Light Orchestra music while people came in. Then the tape would be switched off and the drum machine switched on and left to play for 10 minutes. Happy days.