Going Through The Motions is the first full-length vinyl collection of The Prefects studio recordings. Although a few tunes dont stray from the general sounds of their time, theres innovation and humour here.

Escort Girls may be the first recorded forerunner of American hardcore. The Bristol Road Leads To Dachau hints at Joy Divisions later The Atrocity Exhibition. Taking it a step farther than Alternative TVs How Much Longer with its deliberate dirge, Going Through The Motions, mocks punk expectation against an almost psychedelic haze. Total Luck bears the early evidence of Lloyds lone-man confessional style, and Barbarellas is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to their most-played local venue. Versions of The Modern Lovers She Cracked and the Prefects original 625 Lines were recorded live by Virgin on the final two nights of Manchesters Electric Circus.

The Prefects refused release of their material, believing their first outing should be a studio recording, not a live track or two on a compilation. During the White Riot tour, members of Subway Sect, The Slits and The Prefects joined in on a live encore loosely based on Velvet Undergrounds Sister Ray. Incredibly difficult to listen to, the song was bootlegged widely before eventually appearing on The Slits 1980 album of early demos in a 520 version called No More Rock And Roll For You. Twenty years later, Vic Godard of Subway Sect edited a minute from the recording and released it on his Twenty Odd Years compilation. Two decades later, The Prefects have edited more than a minute from it and retitled it White Riot Tour. In another twenty years, it is hoped that the prolonged rite of ritual shortening of this song will leave no trace of it at all.