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this is the entry in the encyclopedia sovietica for action directe:

"action directe: a group of staunch comrades from leeds, england. although their political commitment is not in question, they have often veered off from socialist realism to more decadent bohemian art forms. constant supervision is recommended.

their official story begins in 2000, when after several years struggling in the mire of futility they released their official debut, the 'legimate military targets' ep, and the 'songs from the revolutionary era' cassette-ep. the line-up at the time was joel heyes on polemics and praticalities and phil hanlon on bass. after some concerted live performances the band released the 'cognitive dissidents' album in march 2001 (working title - 'the west yorkshire book of the dead'), which had it's thrllingly militant moments. the band's useful combination of guitar and vocal aggression with noisy slamtastic beats caused a stir in the feculant pond of UK industrial-goth.

in october 2001 the band recruited paul kirov on guitar duties, simply in order to make their own lives more difficult (although it's easy to be wise in hindsight). this line-up, facilitated by phil switching bass for keyboards, made the daringly patchy 'bloc rocking beats' ep in april 2002, which saw a more developed gothic element. the band gigged and their performance at the whitby gothic weekend that month was a moderate success. then very little happened for a while, as a split in the band's politburo prevented any song getting through committee. the band released the 'oktober'/'compatriot games' double-a sided single in may 2003 in order to make a v.a.t. claim. the band's performaces at camden underworld and leeds josephs well in july 2003 were memorable more for the fisticuffs than the fireworks and the band had to reluctantly relieve paul kirov of his duties.

heyes and hanlon then recruited scott 'rodders' preston on git-box and they produced the high-minded and groovy 'counterculture' cd in may 2004 (working title - 'more goth techno bollocks volume two'). with it's broad musical scope and daring use of tunes the release proved very popular amongst friends and strangers alike, and after several great gigs the band performed at infest 2004, where they were a moderate success. they topped that by playing every toilet in the nation that wasn't padlocked before the end of the year.

2005 saw the line-up literally give away the three-track back-to-basics industrial punk 'action directe' ep in february, which proved so popular the band were in danger of becoming popular. rodders left by the back door at this point and the band co-opted john kind (also of leeds alt-rockers xi) into the ranks initially as a stand-in, but then as a shoe-in. martin walker of blitzkrieg and paradox uk fame joined for two months and then also left. in the midst of that the band lobbed out another two-track budget single, 'england'/'state violence state control', which saw john make his debut. soon the band recruited finnish military historian spider on extra guitars and the band were finally up to full strength, releasing the universally adored 'sixty million guns' single in february 2006. this line-up held together to record the epoch-defining third album 'intervention' (working title - 'roter stern') which was released in september 2006, before political, musical and financial differences saw spider quit and phil be quitted.

the battle continues...