The Pop Group was born in Bristol in 1977 out of a disenchantment with punk failing to bust out of its rock origins. Enraged by global injustices, the group delivered scathing political and society-indicting messages aboard an apocalyptic roller coaster, ferociously straddling their beloved influences such as free jazz, conscious funk, heavyweight dub and audacious experimentalism. Theirs was the most confrontational distillation of punk's original ethos, running riot with unfettered animal instinct in areas only being traversed by the likes of Public Image Limited, This Heat and Throbbing Gristle.

'We Are Time' was originally released in 1980, and included previously unreleased early gems like "Trap", "Genius Or Lunatic" and "Colour Blind". Vocalist Mark Stewart reflects on these seminal early recordings: "The Pop Group was mutating so fast right from the start that it was crucial to document those first experiments with this compilation. We Are Time is really 'the' teenage Pop Group album. It's full of defiance and the material demonstrates the band's staunch independence and our really early DIY ethic before the studio became another instrument."

The Pop Group's influence is far-reaching. They were admired by their contemporaries and have been acknowledged as influential by successive generations of artists such as Massive Attack and St Vincent. Their original material still explodes with an incandescent spirit and energy, to which many current bands aspire. The reformation has rekindled embers which had never gone out, flaming up in a new world which is even more deserving of their assault than back in the day.