Best Before 1984

Best Before 1984 is a compilation of Crass' singles and other tracks, released in 1986, including lyrics and a booklet ("...In Which Crass Voluntarily 'Blow Their Own'") which details the history of the band in their own words. The album was named in reference to the notion that 1984 was the band's "'sell by date", the year that they had often publicly stated that they would split up. Indeed, the band ceased gigging and recording in that year. For many years, there were plans to release an expanded edition of Best Before 1984, which will include currently unavailable material (such as the "Merry Crassmas" and "Whodunnit?" singles) and rarities, in the same vein as the 'Crassical Collection' re-releases of the band's albums. These plans finally came to fruition in 2019, with the announcement of an expanded two-disc version of the album available for pre-order on the One Little Indian website. Between 1 and 5 April 2019, Crass made the first disc of this reissue available for free download from their social media pages. The reissued album was finally released on 2 October 2020 on the now-renamed One Little Independent Records, including CD-sized replicas of the original poster covers from the singles. Track listing Original 1986 release "Do They Owe Us a Living?" "Major General Despair" "Angela Rippon" "Reality Asylum" "Shaved Women" "Bloody Revolutions" "Nagasaki Nightmare" "Big A Little A" "Rival Tribal Rebel Revel" "Sheep Farming in The Falklands" (Flexi) "How Does It Feel?" "The Immortal Death" "Don't Tell Me You Care" "Sheep Farming in The Falklands" "Gotcha" "You're Already Dead" "Nagasaki is Yesterday's Dog-End" "Don't Get Caught" "Smash The Mac" "Do They Owe Us a Living?" (Live in Aberdare from the last gig)