RESTORED LINK - Summercase Festival Barcelona 19th July 2008

And a birthday one to boot!

Here.

Adam and the Ants Cleopatra's Huddersfield 6th June 1980

Here's a gig from the revamped Ants. Here they played at Cleopatra's in Huddersfield, a date on Summer's 'Ants Invasion' tour. For some reason trouble had a habot of following the Ants from gig to gig. A friend in Hayes spoke of older acquaintances in the area who followed the band and they said that a fight was guaranteed. I recall talking to Tony Barber (ex-Buzzcocks) about our appreciation of early Ants stuff and he said the same thing about the violence that their gigs attracted. This gig is no exception, a fight breaks out in the crowd during 'Fall-in'. It must have been a significant punch-up as the police were called and the gig was abandoned.

Was anyone on here, there?

WAV: https://we.tl/BE6VkVsi2n

Artwork: https://we.tl/DTwNHArHgw

01. Physical (You're So)
02. Kings Of The Wild Frontier
03. Ants Invasion
04. Beat My Guest
05. Fall-In
06. Cleopatra
07. Kick!
08. Killer In The Home
09. Press Darlings
10. Tabletalk

The Robin 2 Bilston 15th July 2007

 I meant to post this yesterday, but beer got in the way! Here is an almost anniversary gig from the Midland, would you believe it, 10 years ago!

FLAC: https://we.tl/uRlRHqPE5u

Artwork: https://we.tl/iCDjP2Oxja

01. Intro
02. Toiler On The Sea
03. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
04. Spectre Of Love
05. Strange Little Girl
06. Unbroken
07. Peaches
08. Always The Sun
09. Golden Brown
10. I Hate You
11. Peasant In The Big Shitty

01. Lost Control
02. Thrown Away
03. Walk On By
04. Relentless
05. Burning Up Time
06. Straighten Out
07. All Day And All Of The Night
08. Duchess
09. London Lady
10. Nuclear Device
11. No More Heroes

The Stranglers at the Robin 2, Bilston

15th July 2007.

20 From '84 (10) The Dickies Fender's Ballroom Long Beach CA 31st October 1984

And another from 1984....... Oh no! It's The Dickies! Run for your lives children.

FLAC: https://we.tl/FcKWhPAReb

Artwork: https://we.tl/YGVrDf06rh

01. Nobody But Me
02. Nights In White Satin
03. You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)
04. Pretty Please Me Walk Like An Egg
05. Doggy Doo
06. Tricia Toyota
07. Fan Mail
08. She’s A Hunchback
09. Saga Of Jim Bowie
10. Curb Job
11. Manny, Moe And Jack
12. Paranoid
13. Munster’s Theme/Monster Mash
14. Banana Splits

Dreamers Awake Exhibition

An exhibition has come to my attention entitled 'Dreamers Awake' at the White Cube Gallery (http://whitecube.com/exhibitions/dreamers_awake_bermondsey_2017/) in Bermondsey. Included in this exhibition is this iconic piece that is familiar to us all!

The exhibition runs to 17th September.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jul/14/linder-sterling-its-the-buzz-cock-two-fingered-salute-patriarchy

A One Off Missive by The DDL (Dickies Defence League)

'The Most Dangerous Band in America!' screamed one banner headline in the on-going, and most unexpected, punk rock furore surrounding veteran L.A. punk band The Dickies. This weekend the band enjoyed a brief respite from the controversy with a trip to the UK. I will not regurgitate the background here (just google The Dickes and it is there). Part of the discussion revolves around a concept of safe spaces at gigs. I was curious as to just what this meant, so I looked it up. The idea of safe spaces originated the UK in the educational arena and this I understand. It was intended to be a clear statement that in educational institutions that adopted the 'safe space' policy harassment based upon an individual's sexual orientation would not be tolerated. In the US, the concept is more closely aligned to the right of women to be free of sexual harassment. All fine by me. The thing that I question here whether or not a gig is an appropriate place to create such safe spaces.

Mates Chris and Laura at the Underworld

7th July 2017.

Compare and contrast. Attendance at schools is compulsory and whilst the vast majority of school kids are diligently going about the business of gaining a good education with which they can make a meaningful contribution to society in the years to come, a minority are arseholes who diligently behave in such a way as to make the lives of some a misery (my own kids have for many years had to contend with Nazi comments - they are one quarter German!. In this context, vulnerable children certainly deserve the protection that the safe space concept can offer. This is a very different scenario to a gig, an event attended by choice. The idea of safe spaces here makes little sense to me. In fact it seems to me to be another step towards the trend to abdicate the individual from personal responsibility in terms of one's own safety. At the front of a gig there will forever be a handful of sad, opportunist individuals who think that they can get away with groping someone. This is of course completely repugnant behavior and whilst I am not a violent person I have had it out with individuals who I have seen doing this. But, but, if a gig gets ugly or threatening, the most obvious thing to do is to move away to the sanctuary of an designated safe space. I have always found that the back of the hall or the bar serves this purpose very well.

Let me put this in terms of threats that I have faced (never having been groped at a gig). Over the years I have been to quite a few gigs where politically fueled violence has erupted in the crowd. In each and every case I have not protested my right to enjoy the gig unmolested by fascists.... I have always had the good sense to get the hell out of the way. I would consider this to be a case of taking personal responsibility for my safety. If we were to be accepting of the introduction of safe spaces at punk gigs (or any gigs for that mater) at what point do we draw the line..... tube carriages segregated along gender lines (for surely some of the highest incidences of sexual assault occur on crowded trains)?

So back to The Dickies. I have heard what Leonard said to the protester, it was wrong and as the man said himself 'it wasn't my proudest moment', but faced with some serious allegations, not least predatory sexual behaviour towards minors.... I guess one can loose it in such an outburst. I would say this, I have been seeing The Dickies since 1990 when they made a their first return to the UK in over a decade. Since then I have seen them many, many times and I have never been offended by them because I understand the music, the props, the humour, everything about their hugely entertaining sets. Last year I took my kids to see them in Bristol. At the time my daughter was 14 years old. Never did I have any second thoughts about the suitability taking her to such a gig.

On this tour with echoes of the Pistols shambolic 'Anarchy Tour' forty years ago, UK gigs started to get cancelled in response to what was being said on social media..... gigs in Leicester and Norwich were axed.

As many commentators on this issue have already said, rock 'n' roll, let alone punk rock, has been obsessed with sex since Bill Haley first stepped on stage and no aspect of human sexuality has escaped its attention....... Gary Puckett and the Union Gap anyone! I trust that Leonard and Co can quickly put this behind them and continue doing what they have been doing to the delight of thousands of fans for the last forty years.

Adrian, Gunta and Stan Lee

7th July 2017.

Green Day Great Woods P.A.C. Mansfield Mass. 31st May 1998

Sommat's going down in Hyde Park today and sadly it I'm not there (a hernia operation on Tuesday put paid to that!). No, there's a gaggle of gnarly old punks gathering for what looks a little like a battle of the bands...... old punk versus 'new' punk. Topping the bill are Green Day and here is a radio broadcast from shortly after the release of their fifth studio album 'Nimrod'.

Good luck to SLF, The Stranglers and The Damned. To all that are their enjoy yourselves!

FLAC: https://we.tl/LZK7VhCBO3

01. Nice Guys Finish Last
02. Hitchin' A Ride
03. Geek Stink Breath
04. Welcome To Paradise
05. Longview
06. Iron Man
07. Master Of Puppets
08. Eye Of The Tiger
09. Brain Stew/ Jaded
10. Knowledge
11. Basket Case
12. She
13. King For A Day
14. When I Come Around
15. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)