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Following on from the Clash thread, who I never got to see live, what is your best memory of a punk gig either then or now?
3 stand in the memory for me Buzzcocks at Brighton, was an absolute riot, Laibach at the Marquee was outstanding, Test Department with Tony Bnn MP as support reading police statements from Miners post 1984, and more recently PiL at Brighton, Concorde, was so fark orf I doubt I'll ever see anything like it again in my lifetime. PiL did two nights and I bumped into Lydon in a local pub the following lunchtime. Great bloke and Jah Wobble on Bass sounds like the four horsemen of the appocolypse all by himself. His technical style is known as fck off too.
saw the Stranglers 3 times in a pub in Gloucester Road before they got too big for small venues, fantastic band. For you pervs not aware, check out the nice'n'sleazy track live from Battersea on You Tube. Your in for a treat
I was by chance in THe Target Pub in the late 70's and saw THe Ruts. Kids if you are into punk hunt out "The Crack" LP.There isn't a better rock album out there.
It wasn't properly a punk gig, but I saw Robert Smith get completely covered in gob at the Marquee once, I've no idea how he could put up with it. Revolting. The Cure were excellent though.
Stiff Little Fingers at the Hammy Palais in about 1979. It was the tour for the single At The Edge. Pure power. Best punk gig, best punk band.
Was that the gig where some skinheads tried to start a fight, and Jake Burns told them to f**k off when they played Johnny Was? Great night. Talking to another R (who I didn't know at the time) who was there for that one too only recently ....
Earliest gigs for me would have been the Stranglers in the Edinburgh playhouse in maybe 79 and the Bunnymen in Aberdeen around the same time. Was going to see Siouxe and the Banshees but they closed the venue just before the gig.
Saw quite a few punk/new wave bands second time round - SLF, the Buzzcocks, the Blockheads, etc
bit too young to have been at any of the original punk gigs unfortunately.
but still seen some great stuff over the years.
Best was Joe Strummer & Latino Rockabilly War, Brighton Dome, Rock against the Rich tour 1988ish. Saw him a few times with that lineup and a few times with Mescaleros too. If you're interested, read my tribute to Joe here. http://trustthewizards.com/2013/12/22/joe-strummer-1952-2002/ Around 88ish, I also saw the Damned in Milton Keynes and Joey Ramone came on to do Blitzkrieg Bop with them. Found the audio here.
Also seen Buzzcocks a few times, best was in Liverpool about 5 years ago.
The Clash were the best that I saw, with The Jam close behind. Never saw the Pistols or the Ramones - would have loved to have seen the Ramones. Never saw the Stranglers either but they always seemed a bit more contrived - a bunch of older blokes trying to be young. Loved some of their stuff though. The Clash were the dogs bollocks though - the intensity was something else completely - if you take that Oldham playoff semi-final sort of intensity and times it by 10 then that might be enough. It's hard to describe unless you were there.
Had a long punk gig thread on here a few months back..
Top gigs for me Dead Kennedys at either the Music Machine or Lyceum Theatre of Hate - 100 Club Exploited - Rainbow Theatre ..did hundreds in the early 80s..second wave of punk when the art student had left and it became working class
Went to see Boomtown Rats in SFX in Dublin circa 78. Gig was originally supposed to be in the Tivoli but switched due to the punk aspects. Cut up one of my Mums best sheets to make a safety-pin clad waist jacket adorned with goodwill messages to Bob,Johnny Fingers (pyjama wearing)and the boys. ¬Do the Rat at the Tivoli, Bob is King,etc.
I recall Geldof stopped the gig at one stage to inform the punters in no uncertain terms to "F*cking stop gobbing on me". Anyway went home, stashed my new favourite wardrobe piece and next time I saw it my dear old Dad was sitting up in his fav. chair,unblinking, the rest of my siblings piss*ng themselves. Cue about turn, redfaced for another half hour kickball. Ah the memories!!
Went to see Boomtown Rats in SFX in Dublin circa 78. Gig was originally supposed to be in the Tivoli but switched due to the punk aspects. Cut up one of my Mums best sheets to make a safety-pin clad waist jacket adorned with goodwill messages to Bob,Johnny Fingers (pyjama wearing)and the boys. ¬Do the Rat at the Tivoli, Bob is King,etc.
I recall Geldof stopped the gig at one stage to inform the punters in no uncertain terms to "F*cking stop gobbing on me". Anyway went home, stashed my new favourite wardrobe piece and next time I saw it my dear old Dad was sitting up in his fav. chair,unblinking, the rest of my siblings piss*ng themselves. Cue about turn, redfaced for another half hour kickball. Ah the memories!!
Can anyone on here admit to having gobbed on their favourites?
Ladies and gentlemen, show your appreciation for tonight's band. Errryukshit.
Saw a good few punk bands in the late 70's some went onto be big others were just local bands keeping it that way. The Dammed were good live as were The Stranglers, one of my favourite bands. But were they really punk? They had a keyboardist, a big no no for the punk purists. Most of the band were established musicians, indeed JJ Burnell was a classically trained guitarist, certainly something shunned by the punk fraternity and the band members were a mish mash of ages. Jet Black the drummer was well into his 30's when they hit the big time. He was viewed by some as a dinosaur at the time. I read somewhere that Burnell best described the band as progressive new wave. Again not strictly punk, but one of my best gigs of all time was seeing Ian Dury and the Blockheads in Brighton. What a guy and a clever wordsmith [ and still sadly missed ], backed up by some very talented musicians which included the magnificent bass guitarist Norman Watt Roy who is still a Blockhead as well as plying his trade with dear old Wilko's band. Saw some awful gigs too. The late Polly Styrene, I had to walk out of her gig, her voice was so bad and dare I say it The Clash at the Crawley Leisure Centre in their early days. I developed a healthy dislike for them for years only recently have I come to realise that they weren't so bad after all and will quite happily listen to them without cursing them under my breath.
Saw a good few punk bands in the late 70's some went onto be big others were just local bands keeping it that way. The Dammed were good live as were The Stranglers, one of my favourite bands. But were they really punk? They had a keyboardist, a big no no for the punk purists. Most of the band were established musicians, indeed JJ Burnell was a classically trained guitarist, certainly something shunned by the punk fraternity and the band members were a mish mash of ages. Jet Black the drummer was well into his 30's when they hit the big time. He was viewed by some as a dinosaur at the time. I read somewhere that Burnell best described the band as progressive new wave. Again not strictly punk, but one of my best gigs of all time was seeing Ian Dury and the Blockheads in Brighton. What a guy and a clever wordsmith [ and still sadly missed ], backed up by some very talented musicians which included the magnificent bass guitarist Norman Watt Roy who is still a Blockhead as well as plying his trade with dear old Wilko's band. Saw some awful gigs too. The late Polly Styrene, I had to walk out of her gig, her voice was so bad and dare I say it The Clash at the Crawley Leisure Centre in their early days. I developed a healthy dislike for them for years only recently have I come to realise that they weren't so bad after all and will quite happily listen to them without cursing them under my breath.
Mickey Gallagher of the Blockheads also played keyboards on London Calling and Sandinista.
Not quite punk but I did get to see Transvision Vamp at Brixton in 91. Managed to fight my way to the front of the crowd, just to make sure I could hear ok you understand...
been to a few - Clash with Jimmy Pursey, couple of SLF's , pistols - by far the most manic were the Lurkers where it literally always did kick off when they played a cover of Then I Kicked Her! Saw the Uk Subs a few years back and Charlie Harper is still one of the best frontmen.
Speaking of The Damned, I've got tickets for the Captain's Birthday Party in late April. The Damned & The Ruts are playing, along with Tenpole Tudor & TV Smith. All at 1977 prices ! £1.70 a ticket - Bargain.
Saw The Ramones a bit later on in the 80s, bunking off school and hitching up to Newcastle so we could kip on my mate's sister's floor. Top gig - managed to get one of Tommy's drumsticks (sadly now disappeared) and the gob-covered towel Joey was wiping himself with. When I eventually got home I passed out on my bed and when I woke up the next morning my mum said: "Where did you get that filthy towel from - I've washed it and put it on the line" - doh.
Exploited, Anti Pasti and Discharge on the Apocalypse Now tour in the early 80s is another that springs to mind.
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