Hard Skin – The One That Got Away 7″

Hard Skin
The Ones That Got Away / The Bovver Boys Don’t Bother Anymore
JT Classics

New 7″ from everones favourite anti fascist skinhead punk band. Musicall they take all the best Oi tunes flavoured with cockney accents, as that was the language of the Oi scene.

This is a double A-sided 7″ in true punk rock fashion on orange vinyl too. Sing along basic punk songs that are made all the better for being a slight parody. Hard Skin aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves but deep down the songs have got a good tune and that makes it worthwhile.

http://lavidaesunmus.com/shop/product.php?id_product=3751

niallhope

Blackpool Rox II – Issue 10

Blackpool Rox II

Issue 10

The original Blackpool Rox was a mix of the bizarre, wild and infectious. Each page was lieterally crammed with in formation and art, you would need to viedw the page in all directions just to take it all in.  Like a good painting you could find something new every time you read it.  Of course though it was all about pushing new music of the day, of the era.  Death to Trad Rock was its rallying cry.

It died off after a few years and Blackpool Rox II sprang from its grave.  Andy Higgins of Just Say No To Government Music fame took over the mantle and he has pushed the Seaside Town and all it has to offer ever since.  It’s not just about Blackpool and the bands that avoid eating the rock that the area is so famous for.  Andy interviews some of the best UK bands at the moment.  Epic Problem, Stay Clean Jolene are in here.  There’s bits on local people doing things on a national scale- Journalist Steve Rowland, Video editor John Bentham and publisher Pete Walsh.  Of course Blackpool is home to Rebellion Festival so Johnny Wah Wah who curates the new band stage and Jenni Russell Smith who along with her husband Darren are the brains behind the festival.  Original Rox editor, John Robb, has a piece and then there’s the bit abou Andy running for election in the UK on an Oyston Out ticket (Owen Oyston being Blackpool Football Club’s Chair – who has overseen the clubs recent rise and fall on a shoestring budget but still a very profitable experience, for him).

Great Read

andy@jsntgm.com

Blackpool Rox Towers, c/o 16 Windmill Close, Blackpool, FY3 OEB, UK

niallhope

Suspect Device *56

Suspect Device *56

Wow  56 issues of a self published magazine, or fanzine to me and you.

I’ve written a few different zines since my first, Whose Life Is It Anyway back in 1984 when Suspect device was just starting.  Here they are 30 years on and still as keen and enthusiastic as ever.  The best thing about fanzines is there is nearly always a new band on the receiving end of lavish praise that makes you want to go and check them out.  After Suspect Device I have a whole list for my next internet search.  Good interviews with Las Otras, Replica, The Pukes, Dogtown Rebels, The No Marks and a piece on Hard Skins American tour.

That, along with the music reviews would have been enough for me but the best is yet to come.  Tony and Gaz asked a few people the same questions, When did you get into punk rock, what was its appeal, when did it become more than just going to gigs and buying records, what are your highlights, how has punk changed your life, has it influenced you and what motivates you to stay involved.  All make great reading and I would love to read more.  Maybe they can make it a permanent fixture.  That I would love to see.  This movement has had such a profound effect on so many people, their stories are always good to hear.

http://www.suspectdevice.co.uk

suspectdevicehq@gmail.

niallhope

Rebellion Festival 2015 Review Day 4

Rebellion Day 4 Another day of highlights New Model Army Probably the band that I have seen the most, as well as a band whose albums and songs I have looked to for inspiration for almost 30 years. At Rebellion a snippet of a documentary about the band as shown, followed by a Q&A with singer, Justin Sullivan and art-work designer, tattoo artist, author and one, manager of the band, Joolz Denby. She described the process of managing musicians/creative people as not just herding cats…but herding headless cats! And that is the crux of the inter section of art and commerce….by both of their admissions, Joolz and Justin have no head for money….their focus is naturally on creating art and expressing themselves. The film looks great, although getting the human first-hand version of the story was even better. They are a disarmingly honest pair of modern troubadours…and it was interesting learning how the decision by Malcolm Gerrie from The Tube to put an unsigned independent band on the show changed the band’s fortunes. Every artist needs a break. I look forward to taking time. To watch the film when it is released next month…so much to be learnt for New Model Army. The Avengers and Penelope Houston were another eye-opener. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that The Avengers were one of those bands I knew I should listen to…yet never had! They were fantastic on the main stage. Tuneful, dynamic, exciting, vibrant and with so much to say about youthful possibilities and challenging orthodoxy. And this was a female-led band from San Francisco in 1977!!! It is funny how history coalesces around big names and chart bands….the strivers, the innovators, the pioneers get undeservedly forgotten. That is why a festival like Rebellion is so enlightening for me. The Q&A sessions are a big part of how I learn the secret history of punk. Theorem Peneople spoke about how small yet innovative and exciting the early SF punk scene was…and this was all pre-Dead Kennedys. To her, thee were no barriers to entry…anyone could do it regardless of class, colour, sexual preference etc. It was fascinating to learn how before the ‘codification’ that came with hardcore….punks rock was an open canvas! The Q&A is naturally enhanced by a good moderator…and the ‘battle of the Dead Kennedys authors’ hosted by Andy Higgins was fantastic. Alex Ogg’s book is, quite simply, one of the best books I have every read about music. It is funny and heart-breaking and full of lessons, not jus tab out the music industry and cultural files, but also about art, creativity, collective action and the law, I bought Michael Foley’s book, and have not read it yet but it promises to be excellent, covering the political and social context to the band in the tumultuous times of late 1970s San Fran. Foley spoke about how the band emerged from a highly politically city where young people were taking an active…and creative…stance in the democratic process. As a historian he placed this activity in the context of other social movements and concluded how the pivotal Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables album was one of the key documents/artefacts from American youth of the era. That is a remarkable legacy for a band who were formed with the idea of: ‘imagine if Crass were funny’, I felt very privileged to be in a room listening to Higgins, Foley and Ogg speaking with such knowledge and insight about the band. I only wish they had longer to discuss it. Ignite They were new to me…that exciting tight passionate intensity of the Revelation bands. Quicksand always have a special place in my heart. Anyhow, Ignite had plenty to offer musically and in terms of advocacy. The singer urged people to get involved in the political process and democracy. perhaps the legacy of the Avengers and the Dead Kennedys survives and thrives! He urged the audience to think about. The consequences of war, the reality of migration from war-torn places, and also about the conservationist group, the Sea Shepherds. In one of the most shocking moments of the festival, he dedicated the band’s next song to them and it was Sunday Bloody Sunday. Yes, a U2 cover by a tight and talented post- hardcore band!! And guess what? It worked. They pulled it off….dragging an 80s MTV staple into the punk present. It was surprisingly great…..the song really invigorated by Ignite’s classic up-to-date punk rock vision. And it made sense because punk has always been able to draw from its neighbours…to recombine different music in different ways and make something fresh and new. And here was a youthful and exciting Californian band who were inspired by One Way System as well as Peter and the Test Tube Babies….and also found something in early 1980s U2! I don’t think any band in Ireland could openly admit to being influenced/inspired by the UK punk of the class of ’82 and play a U2 song without ridicule..or ridiculing it. Good on Ignite for their open hearts and open minds…they inspire me and make me feel that the future of punk is in great hands. And that is important when both Justin Sullivan and Penelope Houston spoke today about how in 1980-1982 punk began to have rules and restrictions placed on it…it was ‘codified’ as Penelope said….and here’s to the rule breakers….The innovators..long may they bring excitement to punk, art and life! Other highlights Snuff….one of my fave bands….a band I saw countless times back in the day…and here they were….with new members, granted, yet still playing barmy, brilliant, playful, tuneful funny and exciting songs….hooray for trombones and punk rock! Roy Ellis Always a highlight…..ska from a pioneer….fun fun fun. John Langford The soundtrack for young Niall McGuirk…and a big part of the soundtrack of my youth too. Very inspiring to listen to his songs about democratic struggles in Wales in the 1800s, as well as his songs about gamblers, outlaws and do men who didn’t ‘walk the line’. He played a song he wrote with The Sadies (who opened for Treble Charger all those years ago in Toronto) as well as X-Ray Style by the great late Joe Strummer, and even Waco Brothers and a Mekons’ song! Another pioneers at the crossroads of punk and so much more… Carly Slade No disrespect to all of the other acts that I saw over the 4 days…but this was the voice that stopped me in my tracks…incredibly beautiful. I only saw a little of her set with Josh Chandler Morris, but that was enough to make me want more….it didn’t sound like punk rock..maybe Americana is how it would be described…and maybe that made it very punk rock at the punk rock festival!! And finally….the night belonged to TV Smith the quintessential punk troubadour….getting hoarse by the end of the weekend yet still leading the singalong with veins on his neck bulging and his skinny frame straining in tie-dyed outfit. A prefect summation of all that is great about the Rebellion festival punk rock and music!

Rebellion 2015 – day 4. The end is nigh

Rebellion 2015 – Day 4 it ain’t over til it’s over

Maggie Byrne was in We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It and it was a nice start to the day to hear what she had to say of her time in the band and that they were talking about what was going on in Britain born out of the time and culture in The country back then. Equality was discussed and how punk didn’t care about people’s sex and sexuality. Punk rock facilitated allowing people to be different which helped Maggie form her band. This stage is refreshing as we get to hear real stories whether it’s Maggie letting us know of a cryptic set list or her witnessing a murder or the band reforming in 2010 and then the death of her sister Jo right up to the band reforming once more for a gig later this year. So many tales

Deia Russell smith took to the acoustic stage and sang strongly. Another plus for this festival.

I saw a few songs from the crows on Friday and thought they would be well suited to the acoustic arena. The stripped down sound brings a folk element out in the vocals and is the closest to English folk I’ve heard in the acoustic room all weekend

Vice Squad have been on the go since that second wave of punk commonly known as uk82 and had a strong Female presence in Beki Bondage as vocalist. Beki has long been an advocate of animal righrts and social justice and it came through today in the Empress Ballroom

Justin Sullivan and Joolz spoke of new model army and new documentary to be released in September. Joolz and Justin are very interesting people with honest and refreshing viewpoints. The spirit of being in a band should be more important than what you play. There are no rules, make music in any way you want. That’s the meaning of punk for Justin (a.k.a. slade the leveller)

Maid of Ace were new to me when I saw them last year and was very impressed by how good they were. Nice to see them still bashing away and a great crowd reaction to their loud punk rock and roll. Great stuff.

it really is to rebellions credit that bands like the avengers get to play. Msny of us are punk historians (or dinosaurs) and the avengers play an important part of that history so to be able to see them is an honour. They are from la and started in the mid 70s, sound wise it ramones style new wave but this is about more than what they sound like and as dead Kennedys have freely admitted they paved the way for political bands like them

HDQ are still banging away with their UK take on US HARDCORE. ALways great tunes and great spirit. The sound was poor enough though as hdq songs stop start and aren’t your usual hardcore sound, closer to scream than 7 seconds this was a blistering set nonetheless, nearly as good as mcgonagle in 1988.

There have been two books released on the Dead Kennedys in recent years and today we saw a battle of the two authors. The debut album, Fresh Fruit For Roting Vegetables got dissected and the duel was friendly. I read Alex Oggs book last year and am now looking forward to Michael Foleys one.

tthe Pukes have a great stage presence, ukeleles, punk and lots of fun. Plenty of colour was in display, I wonder has bob geldoff comment about black trousers and band tsarist sent a message to the coolest uke punks around

How to explain Snuff in a paragraph? Impossible. Pure magic that made me wish it was the original line up which it tragically can’t be. Am I wrong in thinking it’s refreshing that snuff were the only bad to play in the empress hall (capacity 2800) not to have a merchandise stall and that had no roadie to organise their own sound. I was on my way to the front when a glass of beer was thrown up, moved back and more beer was being spilt than drank. I bet the winter gardens management are loving this. Increased bar sales for a mop of the floor. Anyway snuff are immense, you should drink your beer to them. Wonder how many bands played their set without a set list too?

Roughneck Riot clashed so i had to make do with buying a copy of their new record.

I still have my first postcard from Jon langford, a prized posession in my house. His journey to country started in Newport but he is very much based in Leeds punk, He was and still is in the mekons and three johns. His set was a collection of more mekons style as that is what his solo records are like. When he covered the mescaleros x Ray style I was close to tears, it’s nostalgia but those memories….

Dik Lucas has sang n three bands at Rebellion, all tight and great sets. i would love to hear some new stuff from him as he has kept playing all trhought the various governments he has been rallying against

TV Smith is a master at rebellion. There is a lot of respect shown at the festival but TV commands so much of it. His acoustic sets are always massive and enthralling and standing ovation he receives at the end is testament to that.

Blackpool heroes and local agit popsters the membranes were on in the Pavillion. Still making a racket and challenging your ears even if the line up looks very like Goldblade. We had them over to Dublin in 1986 and have been firm friends ever since. The sound is fuller now but nick and john from the celebrated line up are still there and the new album is as good as ever.

Less Than Jake are the last band on in the Empress as the festival winds down, with some uptempo brass backed hardcore. Brasscore anyone? Zounds were finishing off the Casbah stage and the Warriors in the arena as the stalls that were a hive of activity over the previous 4 days are packed off for the next leg of their journey. Maybe back to mail order, maybe some shops, some small businesses and maybe to spme other festival. But there still is the no small measure of the remarkable three johns in the Pavillion.

Rebellion is about memories and the three johns hold huge ones for me. I finish sad that it is over for another year, privileged to have been here and amazed at how good some of thw music was.

Rebellion 2015 day 3 – the wildhearted outsider

Rebellion Day 3

The Boomtown Rats were Eire’s best ever popular music band…Eire’s Best Pop Band. That’s a bigger compliment that it might appear at first.

Few areas of human endeavour are more competitive than pop music. So mane people want a hit single or to be a pop star: so few get there.

Since it is so competitive you have to be single-minded to get there. And Bob Geldof embodies single-mindedness,

The Boomtown Rats were pop in the way that other brilliant tunesmiths of the punk/new wave era were: XTC, Squeeze and even Elvis Costello.

But the Rats were from Eire and Eire didn’t have pop bands…especially not pop bands with international appeal. That makes them really significant in Ireland’s culture. They broke with the past and the consensus: that makes them revolutionaries.

They were cranked up on Dr Feelgood and dug deeper back into the Blues of John Lee Hooker…and both are clearly heard in their set in a Blaclpool ballroom full of 40 years of punk survivors.

They also drew from Thin Lizzy’s pop smarts…Van Morrison and Springsteen’s late 20th Century troubadour style…the best of glam rock’s stomping beat in a ballroom blitz. And the swagger of Jagger.

Beyond Ireland that May not have seen remarkable…yet in Ireland it was transgressive and daring. Naturally being single-minded might lose you admirers as it wins you fans…and that is for another time.

The band were tight and punchy and went down surprisingly well for a band that don’t fit comfortably into punk history.

She’s So Modern launched a set preceded by Hugh Cornwall, half of whose really great set was comprised of Stranglers’ songs. The Rats then charged through hits including: Like Clockwork, Someone’s Looking At You, I Don’t Like Mondays (which featured a raucous singalong by the massed choir assorted generations of punks and skins and crusties! It also featured a literally heart-stopping moment in pop music terms: the band standing still and silent poised to continue, teasing the crowd..in control if the crowd…but only by the slightest thread!). Mary of the Fourth Form was also included before the set concluded with Looking After Number One and Rat Trap.

Can any other Irish pop band pull as many original songs out of their back catalogue and deliver them with conviction and intensity?

Being Bob and the Rats this was a show….the final burst was a pre-recorded chant of The Boomtown Rats over a pulsing dance-beat…very AC/DC meets X-Factor…perhaps ironic!

If the band got cheers they also got the loudest boos of the festival: Geldof yelled mid-set: we are the Boomtown Rats…we are Mega!…you (the audience) are dressed an in black uniform of t-shirts with shit bands written on them….I am wearing a fuck-off suit of fake snakeskin!

It was perhaps irony…yet what other performer would dare such an outburst at the audience?

In 1977 the Rats screamed that Ireland could be changed…more doubted them than believed them….40 years later it is clear that Ireland has changed…..beyond imagining….it appears the Geldof and the Rats were right after all!

Huge Highlights:

Goldblade…to me they are the very essence of what punk rock means in 2015: vibrant….relevant…funny…..really funny, yet capable of making the most serious points….serious music, serious fun, a seriously positive force. Brilliant in an afternoon ballroom whose history singer (and punk historian) John Robb recounts as he cavorts in a manner that would have the ballroom proprietors turning in their elegantly constructed graves.

They reminded me of a point so elegantly stated yesterday by Joolz Denby: young people have no idea how much fun it was going on marches…you didn’t feel like people were going to change their ways or policies just because you were marching…yet you were having a laugh and felt good and that you were at least trying,

A.M.I.
Youth, youth, youth….wasted on most of us….Yet this dynamic four-piece full of energy and yelling, screaming, guitar-shredding passion and decent tunes draw ing from decades of (punk….think about it!) and other forms of rebel rock,

Louise Distra on the big stage as part of a three-piece band…no compromise…connecting with the spirit of Patti Smith as well as Riot Grrl rockers,

Barry Cain….great journalist and chronicler of the early punk scene…and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the magnificent Radiators from Space…recalling when NME sold 250,000 copies weekly, and later when Smash Hits sold a million every fortnight! Astonishingly influential!

Steve Drewett from the Newtown Neurotics rocked the acoustic stage…and was superbly assisted by his daughter. She was fantastic and it was quite a thing to hear a young person who might be half the legal voting age, urging the old punk rockers to vote, take hope and change the world!

The Buzzcocks were majestic…..so many bright, brilliant and energetic songs….how many bands have so many singles of that calibre? It fills me with joy every time I see them! Funny to think that when they came to Dublin in the first rush of ounk that the authorities forced them to play practically with no amplification!

For some…noise annoys…for some of us noise is truly inspiring. What a day..what music…what memories!

wildhearted outsider

TV Smith – Book Of The Year

TV SMith
Book Of The Year
Punk Rock TOur Diaries; Volume Five

So when the Stranglers wrote about No More Heroes they didn’t really want us not to have heroes it was more a statement that there are none to worship. Of course, when Glen Friedman brought out his book Fuck you Heroes it was more a statement of equals. People only fall off pedestals eventually.

However in the punk rock world there are evermoving pedestals and while TV Smith may not seem like a prime candidate he is well deserving of one. He is a man that just can’t say no. Many will remember the Adverts and that hit, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes”. I sure do, I even remeber them being on Top Of The Tops. That first album, ‘Crossing the red sea with the adverts’ is one of THE classic punk records. My tape of it was well worn out by the time I had left my first office job. We had a lucky corner in the top of a four story building full of glass but no windows that you could open. Our doors were closed and once our work was being done we could listen to whatever the hell we wanted. Being an all-inclusive unit we each agreed to one tape each and harbour hotel on the radio each lunchtime. That was the signal to down pens, I still remember that radio soap with great fondness.

ANyway my double side tape had The Adverts, The Rezillos on one side and Burning Ambitions, A history of Punk on the other. That competed with ACDC and Guns and Roses and I eventually recognised with small fondness some of the riffs in those songs, however the adverts were the real winners. TV smith went on to continue releasing music post Adverts and as with many 80’s casualties it gets ignored in the history writing. He eventually realised that he could make do with his guitar and wrote some great solo albums. In the interim festivals like Rebellion reinvigorated old school bands and people were looking for the adverts songs once again. They were admitting their fondness for the classics.

TV keeps bashing away releasing his own records, playing DIY gigs, talking to people and being accessable. He has no pedestal to climb onto but his music pays his bills and the people who assist are therer to be thanked not frowned at. This book is his tour diary for 2013, where he could have had his passport stamped in Argentina, Austria, Basque Country, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finaland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Russia, Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland and Uruguay as well as him home nation of the UK. It tells of how gigs come abiout and how he can’t really say no when asked to play a gig. it is not a rock’n’roll tale but more a sstory of the possibilities of dong it yourself. It isn’t a celebration of DIY just a plain tale of what can be achieved.

It’s fascinating reading when taken against the world of rock’n’roll that the adverts temporarily gatecrashed. Them, along with bands like the Clash and the Buzzcocks rallied against a system and an industry that ultimately put them on the pedestal and kicked it off. Most went back to DIY, probably more to do with necessity as A+R people stopped calling. TV Smith hangs out with the audience at most of the gigs he plays in, they are the ones after all that he wants to buy his merch to pay off his next bill. They are the ones who listens to the heartfelt words he sings and want to talk to him about. They are the ones he can’t say no to

Read this

http://tvsmith.com/shop.shtml

Rebellion 2015 – Day 3

Rebellion 2015 Day 3

I said it was a marathon and whilst Wonk Unit may have just arived in Blackpool this is the start of my third day. It’s a great start for me though as I get to see a band I’ve been hearing and reading about for a couple of years and have been following their own Wonk Fest for the past couple of years. They have an new member in Jess who adds a keyboards and screams to the ska tinged hardcore sound or joke core if there is such a term

Louise Distras’s acoustic set last night was a highlight and she has beefed out her sound now with a band. My introduction to Louise was at rebellion and was always solo with her guitar. I delighted in the fact that an independent woman would get up on stage and rail against the world, rallying the troops. I wasn’t expecting such a powerful set on offer from the three piece. Almost as good as the acoustic. Almost, still damn good.

AMI are from Brighton and the collective age of the four piece may not be equal to Charlie Harper from the UK subs who was standing in the from row for most of their set. Good power slightly rock sound. Singer had a descendents t-shirt so the future is bright.

Goldblade early on a Saturday afternoon on the first day of the new football season. I could have made my excuses and watched the scores but how can you miss this? Complete with oyston out banner in support of the local football team gold blade are the underdogs band and they will scream at the top of their lungs for that underdog. We will rejoice with them.

Nic Austin on the Literary stage gave us a chance to sit down and take in the stories of his time in Chelsea and his spell with Generation X. Nic is still playing, not only in Chelsea but has a new record out too, church of eon

The Boys played some acoustic versions of their early pop rock sound. Pop punk means so much more than Green Day or other sped up tuneful bands. The original wave saw bands wih basic tunes and an atitude play some great songs. The Boys had these and it is great to hear them stripped down.

999 were a punk band from my youth but I wanted to hear what Barry Cain had to say about his book sulphate street, his time as record mirror journalist and then publisher of flexipop magazine.

A-Heads were part of the anarco wave that showed that not only was diy possible, it was imperative. Say and sing what you like.

MDC certainly said and sang what they wanted. Unfortunately after sitting and waiting 15 mins we were informed they hadn’t arrived. I was hoping for this to be my chance to she’s them as they are due on last tonight. It gave me a chance to listen to monkey from the addicts and his take on performance and punk and being happy to be part of a community. Hard to believe they have recorded and released over 200 songs, must make it hard to think up a set list, I had to leave when I heard they played Israel, hugely disappointing.

Peter and the test tube babies always seemed like a band with interesting tales and it was nice to hear some of them. The literary stage is a hugely imortant facet of rebellion. We get to hear first hand accounts of what was going on with all these bands. It’s great for someone like me who was living in a different country and buying the record but not really expecting to ever be in a position to see them live. It wasn’t Peter on stage but Del from the band had some stories to tell anyway.

Steve Drewett is one such person I wrote to and wondered if I’d ever get to see him live. I have now seen him or his band the newtown neurotics 6 imes and love it every time. I had never seen him on stage with his daughter rosa before as she accompanied him on 6 tracks. It’s such a privilege to be here listening to bands that played such a part in my formative years. It’s 30 years later and life keeps moving on. We realise that but at the same time it’s always good to take stock of where we come from. For many that is the community or area they grew up for me I grew up in the punk community and the neurotics were very much neighbours, along with Ruts DC and so many more this weekend.

Culture Shock I have seen nearly as much as the neurotics and they would have lived around the corner in that community, newcomers though :). Upbeat punk and dick is in great form tonight.

The literary stage was buzzing today, nina antonia spoke of her book about Johnny thunders and her musical upbringing listening to Marc bolan

It then became time for the big guns. Hugh Cornwall from the Stranglers, Peter Perrett from the Only Ones and Steve Lake from Zounds set us up for the Boomtown Rats. I was amazed at the size of the crowd for the rats. Full to capacity but was it in anticipation of the music or was there an ‘intrigue’ factor? The crowd weren’t jumping around or celebrating each song in dance and it was thinner by the end of the set but I had to leave anyway for the neurotics and the mob that’s more my punk rock anyway. The amount of Merch the boomtown rats brought in and out was phenomenal. Signed CDs and DVDs galore. I guess autographs are important to some punks. Me? I prefer memories.

Hard Skin are one of the few bands that get away with verbally abusing the audience. Like an Oi version of Captain Hotknives they don’t take themselves seriously but realise the world is a serious place. They play in the casbah which is outdoor and a realisation for me that so many punks still smoke. We have become so accustomed to smoke free zones entering one for a gig is a real step back in time, not a better time though. Hard skin don’t care, they only care if there are fascists in the building, no room for them in our scene. A belter of a set from everyone’s favourite obnoxious wannabe skinheads

The Mob were one of the best sets a couple of years ago and tonight compete again for it. Steve lake guested and tried to remove the menace but the casbah was rocking and this was another highlight.

Buzzcocks don’t need an introduction and the songs sound like they could have been written yesterday. Such good tunes but maybe it’d be better if Steve Diggle hadn’t turned out to be such a good guitarist. These songs are too easy for him to play so he admonishes them with solos.

Steve Ignorant’s album with Paranoid Visions showed how these stalwarts can still be relevant with their new songs. Tonight’s set was a mixture of that album and some older songs that Steve had written. They also won the prize for biggest self publicists or band that wear the most of their own band tshirt

I was asleep for MDC as it is hard to sustain 14 hour punk rock days, has no-one heard of the working time directive? I did have a wry smile when I saw the line up of stalls in the casbah venue. U.S. Hardcore band with strong links to the UK anarchist punk scene competing with all the madmen records, home of the mob competing with Steve ignorant from Crass competing with hard skin whose musical roots are in that anarcho punk scene. All separate stalls, no chance of one big one in the main area next year????

Dave Cain talks about his book Sulphate Strip

MDC no show for acoustic set

Steve Drewett and daughter Rosa

Rebellion 2015 day 2 from the wildhearted outsider

Rebellion Day 2

Here’s the thing…a few thousand punks gathered together in a Northeastern English Seaside town in August 2015…why would that matter? Is it all nostalgia? An attempt to recapture, relive, or even reimagine youth?

The Q&A conversations provide an opportunity to hear first-hand reflections from some of the people who were there. Pioneers.

Jules Denby has lots to say. Se is also fantastically articulate about what it was like to try to break into the music industry in the post-punk era. To get New Model Army gigs she pretended to have he own agency…yet as she reflected on how hard it was to break into the inner circle of culture…she concluded that it is harder now. To her freedom of expression has become more difficult for young artists…it has become a declining circle of opportunities….now parents pay thousands of pounds to get their kids’ bands started. Never mind DIY.

Today’s highlights included a number of female-fronted bands. And the most positive thing is that the female musicians and singers didn’t appear to be pandering to some cliched idea of what ‘rock stars’ or ‘girls in bands’ should look like. These were young women worthy of respect…commanding respect.

In Evil Hour showed another way that punk had reinvigorated and inventing itself:by getting a blood infusion from heavy metal. The female singer had a great tuneful voice and wasn’t afraid to screech when the music called for it. A band with a kick and a punch….and looking comfortable on the main stage.

Brassick were also impressive….powerful, packing a blast of energy and exciting to watch. I know I am using the language of fighting to describe these bands and that seems appropriate when there are so few women being taken seriously by the music industry…or taking the brave decision to bypass it.

The Ruts DC in conversation with Alex Ogg was another highlight. I feel that punk’s history and legacy is in good hands with people like Alex around to research and champion it.

The Ruts DC were fantastic in conversation and just as impressive on both the acoustic stage and during their full electric set. They took the essentials of that early punk movement and made songs that were pared down to their essentials yet had room to breathe and have a deep rhythmic resonance. They always bring to mind Fugazi…that no-nonsense economical approach…nothing wasted…everything in the perfect place. It sounds easy but is meticulous. They both make music that stands the test of time.

The Gang of Four’s debut, Entertainment, was one of the great albums of the era. So different….so exciting….funk rhythm….dance music with considered lyrics…words that made us think about our consumption…how we lived…how we received our information…..isn’t that a fine legacy?

To sum up Jules Denby and to quote Segs from Ruts DC: this is about “people unite”! It is about a caring community. And what could be more inspiring than that?

Honourable mentions to the energy of Cynadie Pills, Arthur Brown who pioneered the theatre of heavy metal in the 1960s, and the Damned whose Neat Neat Neat and Smash It Up were still joyous after all these years.

Rebellion 2015 – day 2. Phew

Ruts DC acoustic

Rebellion 2015 day 2

And so it continues, the streets around the Winter Gardens have been magically cleaned and the seagulls had some treats for breakfast, It all kicks off just after midday with Max Splodge the MC for a game of bingo, when in rome and all that.

First bit of music for me is the Uk based but US influenced sound of 4130;s. I’ve played them a few times on my radio show. Speedy and tuneful just like bad religion only with less words.

Johnny wah wah curates the new band stage which takes place on day 1, he also is one of the main interviewers on the literary stage as well as singing in on trial UK. Distorted Buzzcocks tuneful songs.

I felt like I’d gatecrashed a secret party gathering when going into see in evil hour. Fairly packed empress ballroom with hundreds of people sing along to the power punk on offer. It was a good secret and a good surprise however I still can’t get into guitar solos, any chance rebellion could ban them?

The Crows are regular features at rebellion but this was my first time to se them, tuneful punk that started with an accapella version of homophobia. What more could you ask for?

Every year I run a competition in my head for most popular band t-shirt. I will be amazed if gimp fist don’t win it for 2015. Biggest queue at a March stall for over an hour before they even played. Don’t quite get it myself

Paul Haslam on the Literary stage told us of his time getting into publishing books. I can’t think of many better ways to spend a Friday aftrnoon than listening to tales of punk rock by people who were involved, Paul co-edits street sounds magazine with Gary Bushell and owns countdown books. His upbringing was soul and mod and he dj’d at 100 club. He has a big connection with the oi scene but this talk ended up being rushed through due to him arriving late. Rebellion runs on a very tight timescale and its timekeeping is usually immense.

Cathi Unsworth reminisced on her days and her 5 books. Her journalistic career started with articles for sounds. And as I sat listening the lightbulb appeared above my head. I have read many reviews from Cathi down through the years. Sounds helped me discover some great bands in the 80s and Cathi (along with John Robb and Gary Bushell) helped with that soundtrack. Joolz then spoke of tattoos, writing, art her background, New Model Army and pretty much everything in between. Some sad tales of the removal of artistic freedom for people in bands. Both Joolz and her interviewee Rhona Dakar asked that people off all ages need to support diy and that is the way forward for all artists. Joolz had a tough upbringing and if she had of dropped a pin during her explanation of her youth it would have created a thunderclap noise. We sat motionless and stunned whilst we hear of the agony that men inflicted on her as an adolescent

One thing that strikes me so far is that there are so few all male bands or events. Striking in that it shouldn’t matter but with so much make aggression in punk rock it is heartening that women are involved and rebellion is not behind in pushing that forward.

Seggs and Ruffy from Ruts DC go into more detail about their new book. A book they introduced to us last year but has been five years in the making. It is now published. The band that don’t want to complain any more they want to provide answers. The message they want to send out is “people unite” How refreshing is that?

Paranoid Visions are gathering huge momentum and respect. Part of the furniture here, their accommodation becomes home to Irish Punk for the weekend. The flag literally flying in the front window of their, what Blackpool can only get away with calling a,hotel. The current line up is their tightest for years and songs new and old go down a treat. They are getting better with age and it was a dilemma that they clashed with the chat with ruts chat.

Cyanide pills are on damaged goods who always seem to pick out good tuneful catchy pop punk rock bands straight from the garage. I got their album after seeing the last year, well worth a listen.

We were treated to more stalwarts in the guise of Subhumans then. I’m never disappointed listening to their set even if Bruce doesn’t seem to be playing guitar. .

TV Smith played his own songs tonight rather than the Adverts classics of last night. It’s positive that so many people don’t just attend rebellion for nostalgia purpose. Sure the majority of people are here because of their affinity to a genre they lived and loved in a different century but they are still willing to open up to new songs, which is what Billy Liar and Louise Distras do in their seperate well attended acoustic sets

Ruts DC however are a different story. I think the best band I’ve seen here, the songs are incredible and the respect people have for them is immense. For many bands it can be a case of seeing a few songs and good and all as they may be you move on. Their is always someone else to see. For the Ruts DC my feet while not firmly planted on the ground (how can you fail not to move and be moved by In A Rut?) weren’t going too far. They played 2 sets tonight, electronic and acoustic and they made the trip worthwhile regardless of what other wonders the weekend might bring. They even do something the subhumans would never dare, play a new song. The respect the crowd have for the ruts is unequalled anywhere else. If Rebellion was a football team the ruts DC would be its star player. The one that can do now wrong and kisses the crest with meaning.

Back to reality and some comedic relief from Captain Hotknives before another nostalgic trip with the Rezillos. I spoke yesterday of that cassette I had in work, Crossing the red Sea wih the Adverts and I can;t Stand The Rezillos. Well the original pop punk band were bashing them out here.

More old scholl tunes from the Damned but to be honest that was just keeing me awake for another highlight. However the packed out Empress Ballroom were on a different wavelength as they jumped and sang and very nearly did as as It Up. Gang Of Four, I don’t know how i did it but i stayed awake over 13 hours after max kicked it all of with his bingo, caught the entire set and smiled my whole way home, not so much at Gang of Four and their incredible rhythmic angular songs. They could easily be Gang of one seeing as Andy is the only original member left but I am marvelling at the excellence and humility of ruts DC

Ruts DC acoustic