Also known as "There's Gonna Be A Borstal Break-Out," this uptempo, rebellious song is pure punk. Co-written by band leader and front man Jimmy Pursey with guitarist Dave Parsons in 1976, it was their first single after being signed by Polydor. According to the Sham 69: History, Discography And Biography, it was released January 6, 1978. It was backed by "Hey Little Rich Boy" and was engineered by Peter Wilson, who produced it with Pursey.
"Borstal Breakout" was re-released in March 1993 as the B Side of "Uptown" on the C.M.P. label.
Borstals were a form of youth detention center. The first one was established at Borstal Prison in the Kent village of Borstal near Rochester in 1902, and they had an almost uniformly bad reputation. In the UK, the 1982 Criminal Justice Act abolished them, replacing them with youth custody centers, although other Commonwealth countries continue to use them, India, for example. If this reform had occurred ten years earlier, this song would probably not have been written; somehow "Youth Custody Center Breakout" doesn't gel.
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