The Flys - Waikiki Beach Refugees

If the original 1978 vinyl felt like a teaser, the 2001 Captain Oi! expanded CD reissue of Waikiki Beach Refugees is the full, unadulterated manifesto. Giving the deluxe treatment to Coventry's sharpest new-wavers, this edition takes the original 12-track studio LP and forcefully welds 8 monumental bonus tracks onto the tail end. It captures a band oscillating brilliantly between the snotty, buzzsaw energy of the class of ’77 and the sophisticated, angular power-pop hooks that would dictate the turn of the decade.

By packing the tracklist with the group's earliest independent EP cuts alongside elusive 7” versions, this 20-track monstrosity answers the historical grievance that The Flys were just a "singles band." It lays out the entire narrative of a group with too much pop sensibility for the purist punks and too much venom for the mainstream chart-watchers. It's a bruising, hook-laden hour of music that transforms a forgotten debut into an indisputable masterpiece of the era.

To understand the full weight of The Flys, you have to bypass the history books and drop right into the heart of this 20-track collection. While the original LP tracks—kicking off with the frantic pop blueprint of "We Don't Mind The Rave" and sliding into the proto-ska bounce of "She's The One"—prove they had the songwriting chops to out-melody almost anyone in the scene, it’s the structural shift of having their entire early catalog under one roof that makes this reissue essential. They weren't just reacting to punk; they were actively building the bridge toward the New Wave.

The core album tracks showcase a surprisingly mature unit, dealing out jagged post-punk guitar friction on "Looking For New Hearts" and sneering urban claustrophobia on "Fun City." Neil O’Connor and David Freeman’s dual guitar assault weaves around Pete King’s thunderous, razor-sharp drum work, constructing songs that pack a physical punch without sacrificing an ounce of tunefulness. By the time you hit the glorious, sun-starved title track, you're fully clued into their specific cocktail of suburban disillusionment and hyperactive melody.

But the real magic trick of this specific 20-track iteration happens the second the original album ends and the bonus material strikes. The inclusion of "Love And A Molotov Cocktail" is worth the admission price alone. It remains one of the absolute finest singles of the initial UK punk explosion—a brilliant, explosive burst of romantic cynicism that crackles with pure, unfiltered electricity. Paired with its manic B-sides like "Can I Crash Here?", the compilation fills in the gaps of a band firing on all cylinders before major label polishing took hold.

Ultimately, this expanded version of Waikiki Beach Refugees rescues a brilliant band from the threat of historical footnote status. It paints the full portrait of The Flys: cynical, incredibly tight, and relentlessly infectious. If you want to know what happened when the raw fury of 1977 met the calculated art-pop precision of 1979, this is the exact textbook you need to study. Turn it up until the speakers rattle.

Ripped to MP3

1. "We Don't Mind The Rave" (2:58)

2. "Beverley" (3:13)

3. "Looking For New Hearts" (4:04)

4. "She's The One" (2:02)

5. "Monsoon Sky" (3:15)

6. "Fun City" (3:05)

7. "Don't Moonlight On Me" (2:17)

8. "Some Kind Of Girl" (4:46)

9. "I Don't Know" (3:04)

10. "Waikiki Beach Refugees" (3:43)

11. "Saturday Sunrise" (2:57)

12. "Dark Nights" (3:10)

The Captain Oi! Bonus Tracks

1. "Love And A Molotov Cocktail" (2:31) – The band's legendary independent debut single EP.

2. "Can I Crash Here?" (1:51)

3. "Civilisation" (2:28)

4. "Fun City" (Single Version) (3:07)

5. "EC4" (2:09)

6. "Beverley" (Single Version) (2:28)

7. "Name Dropping" (3:50) – A standalone 1979 single.

8. "Fly V Fly" (3:42)