End of year gigs: The Unthanks in Winter and a bunch of old punks

A couple of Wednesdays ago, Sarah and I met up with our good friend Tom in the People's Republic of Stroud (TM) for a very seasonal concert from Northumberland's finest, The Unthanks. The venue was The Sub Rooms ( formerly and formally The Subscription Rooms ), where I'd previously seen the likes of Tenpole Tudor, Buzzcocks and the Poison Girls. This time, however, the recently-restored ballroom wasn't hosting crusty Punk rockers ( more of them later! ) but some good old folkin' folk music. It was a very civilised affair: an all-seated venue with signs forbidding us from taking photos or filming the concert. At least this means you're spared more of my blurry gig photos...

Support came from Katherine Priddy, a young folk singer / guitarist with a gorgeous voice ( and face! ) and some gently confessional songs. Apparently, her recorded work features more instrumentation but, for this tour, it was just her and a guitar. She said the song Does She Hold You Like I Did? should feature some mariachi-type horns, but we'd just have to imagine them. Songs like that one and First House on the Left were quietly lovely and showcased Katherine's virtuoso guitar-playing, which really was something special to witness. Her set was a short, sweet treat and expertly set the scene for the main event.

The show was billed as "The Unthanks In Winter" and that was exactly what they delivered as all the songs were themed around Winter and Christmas, with familiar tunes and carols expertly weaved into the folk music, old and contemporary. The band's instruments included saxophone, fiddle and vibraphone, and many of the 8-piece ensemble swapped instruments throughout the evening. The music ebbed and flowed, from joyous to melancholy, taking in echoes of jazz and classical, always impeccably played and with a lovely, counterintuitively warm sound. Of course, the main feature of the show was the gorgeous sound of Rachel and Becky Unthank's voices. Their Tyneside burr brings a naturalistic, conversational tone to their songs of love, work, family and history, and it was also a pleasure to hear them talk candidly about themselves, their music and their father, who is a huge influence on their career. 

At times they encouraged the audience to sing along, which many did with gusto, especially the woman sitting next to me who is apparently part of a choir. ( I kept quiet. ) Those more connected to the folk world would probably know which songs were new and which traditional, but I'm ignorant of such things, and thought they all sounded wonderful anyway. The sisters told us how cool they thought Stroud was, which obviously delighted the ageing-hipster "Stroudie" audience, as they're always up for some back-slapping. It was a lovely evening, with some fantastic, emotionally-charged music, only slightly marred by the bloody uncomfortable "school chairs" we had to sit on...

After the show, the sisters stood and talked to the punters as we filed out of the venue. Sarah spoke to Rachel, telling her they were "beautiful girls with beautiful voices"  -  can't argue with that. Sarah, Tom and I sloped off to The Lord John, Stroud's cheap 'n' cheerful Wetherspoons, for a post-gig catch-up and then we all headed for home. It was, after all, a school night...

As a total change of pace, we went to our beloved Gloucester Guildhall on Friday night to see legendary Gloucester punks Demob play their 45th anniversary celebration show. Lead "singer" Andy K came back from California for this one, and a load of old punks turned up in support. We picked up our friend Caz and roared into town for some rock 'n' roll action...

We missed the first band, The Youth Within, ( probably no great loss ) but were of course down the front dead on time for Stroud Disco Punks (TM), Chinese Burn! Ed from the Burn had got me in on the guest list, so it was the least we could do ;-)

Chinese Burn surprised absolutely no-one by being the best band of the night. Their melodic R&B-inflected Pop Punk was as fun as ever, and the short set meant they played ( most of ) their best songs with a minimum of fuss. I hadn't seen them for a few years so it was an absolute pleasure to catch them yet again. Ben emotionally dedicated the set to the late, great Shane MacGowan who passed away recently, which was a lovely touch. They closed with the epic Defending Stalingrad, which I still think has one of the greatest lyrics I've ever heard from a Punk band, famous or otherwise.

Next up were Cheltenham "Horror Punks" The Screaming Dead, a local band who've seemingly been going forever but whom I've strangely never seen. They were average Goth fare, entertaining enough but not too memorable. I did remark to Sarah that the singer looked like Alice Cooper if he'd been dead in a river for a couple of weeks... which was probably a bit harsh.

At last, Demob themselves hit the stage, following a video about the band by my mate Glenn, which was sadly a failure as one of the Guildhall techies had turned the sound off. Oops! Demob kicked off in true Street Punk style with early-80s anthem Anti-Police, its lyrics about police brutality still sadly relevant. They pounded out their meat 'n' potatoes, no frills Punk with a surprisingly ferocious energy for a band who hadn't played together for a couple of years and had had only one practice. Never the most subtle of bands, Demob can still be relied on for some raw, angry music, and certainly got the crowd going nuts down the front. I definitely enjoyed this kind of thing more when I was about 16, but it was fun to relive the days of Teenage Adolescence, to quote another Demob song title. After their best song No Room For You, the set kind of fizzled out but I think Andy and the boys ( including half of Borrowed Time ) did themselves proud and certainly pulled the biggest crowd I can remember them having. After the gig I asked Andy how his California accent was coming along  -  he said he's still a Gloucester boy at heart: "You can take the boy out of the Shire, but you can't take the Shire out of the boy."

It was a good night out with some great music, and some half-decent music, but mostly it was lovely to catch up with a whole load of people I hadn't seen in ages. A great evening to round out what has been an outstanding year for live gigs.

Anti-Nowhere League / Borrowed Time at The 100 Club, London 13/01/23

 I really hadn't expected my first gig experience of 2023 to include a trip in a cramped tour van to the world famous 100 Club in that there London town. But that's what happened the Friday before last ( trust this ol' blog to be up-to-the-minute ). My friend Glenn has been asking me for years to come to the Resolution punk festival in London but I've never made it until now. His band, Borrowed Time, have played The 100 Club nine times now and I thought it was time I made the effort. If there's one positive outcome of the pandemic, it's that many people like me are now grabbing opportunities they may have passed up previously  -  the lockdowns and restrictions showed us how empty life was without shared experiences with others. It's time to get out there! And getting out there, in this case, meant seeing crusty old biker-punks The Anti-Nowhere League. ( Yes, they're still going. ) Not a band I was ever into or was really bothered about seeing live but, hey, it looked like fun and I was on the BT guest list, so why not?

So we all piled into the Borrowed Time tour bus ( cunningly disguised as a works' van ) and headed to the capital. We got to the 100 Club at about 6 pm and lugged the gear down the 33 steps of the treacherous fire escape and into... the legendary 100 Club! It's such an iconic venue and it was a fantastic feeling to finally be in the building where everybody who is anybody has played. ( Including the ANWL, as seen above, sound-checking. ) It was great to soak up the atmosphere and see all the framed photos on the walls of so many historic acts, from long-gone jazz musicians, through the Punk explosion and up to the modern day with people like the increasingly-mental Kanye West. ( Very bittersweet to see photos of the likes of Amy Winehouse and the recently-departed Terry Hall. )

And here are Glenn, Steve and Cliff in the glamorous green room backstage. ( Okay, it's a dump but still cool. )

( Glenn here pointing out that Borrowed Time have stencilled their name on the wall and somebody has helpfully added the word "Dildo" underneath... )

After BT had sound-checked, Glenn and I had an hour to wander down Oxford Street and find something to eat. It was lovely to be back in London again after so long even though it's still a culture shock after the bloody pandemic to be surrounded by so many people. After a quick plant-based burger we headed back to the venue, bypassing the queue at the front door with a swish of our wrist-bands. It's who you know, obviously :-)

Luckily the club was virtually full at 8:30 pm when BT hit the stage, which was great for them, and they went down well with the pleasingly diverse crowd. As I said, they've played the 100 Club on quite a few occasions and so are fairly well known to the Resolution faithful. They played a punchy, no-messing half-hour set, packed with BT faves like Under The Radar, Bad Stranger and Bridges with a couple of new songs thrown in. The sound and lighting were both excellent and all the band were on top form.

All together now: "I'm fucked up and I'm insecure / Needy and emotional"

The next band on were the Cockney Rejects-wannabes Knock Off. They're really nice guys and very good at what they do but the subject matter of their songs ( fighting, football, drinking ) leaves me cold. I was into that stuff ( if  only vicariously ) when I was 14 but it all sounds old-fashioned now. They also went down well with the crowd ( of course they did, with all the Lahndahn football fans there ) and were worth watching but I didn't take any photos. And then it was time for The League...

The ANWL came out to a rapturous welcome and kicked off with Can't Stand Rock 'n' Roll and the audience kicked off too. It was a proper old Punk gig, with pre-pandemic moshing, crashing about, falling over, beer-drinking and -spilling all making a comeback. Typically for me, I forgot all my reservations ( too crowded, don't know the band, everyone else is still in the green room ) and went Down The Front, often a dangerous place to be but usually the best place to be. And it was great!

The band were very loud, very tight and very entertaining. Although the lyrics ( what I could hear of them ) are confrontational and nihilistic, it's all very much tongue-in-cheek ( or tongue somewhere! ) and it's obvious from the joy the band displayed that it's not to be taken too seriously. Songs like I Hate People ( "and they hate me" ), Let's Break The Law and God Bless Alcohol are hugely fun to sing along to and kept a permanent grin on my face. The very rude So What and the Ralph McTell cover, Streets Of London, drew a rabid response from the crowd and you could tell that Animal / Nick was having a great time. Softly spoken offstage and reserved in the green room ( apart from a few warm-up exercises ) he became a full-on Rock 'n' Roll legend on stage. Similarly to St Vincent and Mark Burgess of The Chameleons ( and who thought those three would ever inhabit the same sentence? ) he thanked us for supporting live music and small venues and also told us that, as everything's fucked, we might as well have as much fun as possible and die with smiles on our faces. He may have a point.

After a final thrash through We Are The League and a "Thank you, brothers and sisters!" from Nick, the League took their leave. I wouldn't say I'm now a converted ANWL fan but, just for the one night, it was a pleasure to be a part of their leery, fuck-everything world.

After much faffing about and networking, the Borrowed Time boys packed up their gear and we lugged it all back up the 33 treacherous steps and into the van. After a luckily uneventful journey back to the Shire in torrential rain, I got home at about 04:00 am. Phew! Rock 'n' roll!

My next scheduled gig ( Weyes Blood in Bristol ) will very likely be a more sedate affair but this night of debauchery in the legendary 100 Club was certainly an experience to remember.

God Save The Teen! ( My Top 3 Teenage Punk Songs )

 

My good friend and esteemed fellow blogger Tom ( of Poetry, Music, Other fame ) recently suggested that we both write a post on the subject of our three fave teenage Punk songs and drop them ( as I believe "the kids" say ) on the same day. I initially thought he meant three Punk songs about being a teenager or having the word "teenage/r" somewhere in the song. Easy, I thought: I can think of three straight away, no problem. But no, the brief is to write about three favourite Punk songs from my teenage years. That subtle difference instantly meant I had to consider many, many more songs. Am I up to the challenge? Find out below, after another adorable Punk Cat picture...

I've been over-thinking this of course but, as Punk was such a singles-driven genre, I decided to include singles I actually own(ed) so couldn't include Anarchy In The UK ( 'cos I'm not rich ) or such classics as The Jam's In The City or The Ramones' Blizkrieg Bop as they were never in my collection on 45 rpm. 

I do have about 100 Punk singles ( give or take a few, I mean do I count Adam & The Ants as Punk? ) so it's been a painful process, made doubly difficult by trying to remember what I actually liked as a teen as opposed to what I think I liked in hindsight. And to be fair, I did like some crap back then. A lot of the time I listened to the more Street Punk / Oi! / early '80s end of the Punk spectrum which sounded great when I was an angry teen but doesn't really stand up now. I don't really lounge around in my smoking-jacket and reminisce to the soothing sounds of The 4-Skins or The Cockney Rejects nowadays but, when I was about 15 and everybody else hated that stuff, I thought I was a proper rebel. ( Pause here for hysterical laughter. ) Anyway, I've chosen my Top 3 ( for the purposes of this blog anyway ) which comprise two all-time classics and one slightly more obscure offering. Hey ho, let's go...

Number 3: Religious Wars e.p. by The Subhumans

By 1982 Punk was Officially Dead, the movers and shakers and taste-makers had moved on to Joy Division gloom or New Romantic glitz, and teenage rebellion was old hat. Of course, nobody told the diehard Punks that and they kept angry and carried on as their increasingly-fractured "movement" went back underground where it had started. As well as the Punk / skinhead hybrid of Oi! and the proto-Goth which went by the counter-intuitive moniker of Positive Punk, there was a large Anarchist Punk sub-genre. Spearheaded by the Crass collective, a whole bunch of spiky-haired crusties were making very noisy music ( in the loosest sense of the word ) and shouting about violence, vivisection, vegetarianism and other subjects that didn't begin with "v". Bands like Conflict, Poison Girls, Omega Tribe, Dirt and The Subhumans. This last bunch were probably the nearest the sub-genre got to an actual rock band ( they could play their instruments and everything! ) and were pretty successful. I mean, they actually sold a few records: one such being my Number 3, Religious Wars. This kicks off with a mighty guitar riff ( they freely admitted to heretically liking Sabbath and Led Zep ) and then sets out to destroy organised religion from the comfort of their squat. They didn't actually succeed of course but it's a powerful, angry and bitter attack on the kind of indoctrination which leads to wars and genocide  -  "Religious wars, no reason why / What a glorious way to die" - with a scorchingly propulsive momentum which seemingly pushes you through the 2 1/2 minute song in about 2 1/2 seconds. If that makes any sense. It's an assault on the ears, a nagging question beaten into your brain by a breeze-block, it's not pretty but it's bloody immense. 

Number 2: God Save The Queen by The Sex Pistols

I know, I know, this is the most boring, obvious choice BUT it still sounds absolutely fantastic 200 years after it was recorded ( I think that's right ) and has to win out over Anarchy because, well, see above. GTSQ, as we all know, was actually a Number One Hit Single in the Jubilee year of 1977 despite media censorship / chart-rigging ( Rod who? Rod Stewart? Never heard of 'im ) and was probably the high point for Punk in terms of mainstream success and attention. ( I was, of course, blissfully unaware of this at the time. My musical tastes at the age of 10 didn't stretch much further than the Abba and Boney M albums my Mum had or the Glenn Miller tapes my old man would play in the car. ) Although the furore over the anti-Monarchist lyrics seems ludicrous today ( Lydon never calls Her Maj a moron  -  he calls "you", her subject, a moron ) the song is still good, seething fun and the closing "No Future" refrain still grabs you by the throat and leerily belches in your face. Which is nice. The Pistols themselves may now be a cartoonish "heritage" act, more of a brand than a band, but this slab of paradoxically organised Anarchy stands tall on its own bug-eyed, vein-bursting merits.

Number 1: ( White Man ) In Hammersmith Palais by The Clash

Again, an apparently safe choice: the band who were famously accused of "selling out" because they dared to sign to a record label... or alternatively the "Only Band That Mattered"  -  the mighty Clash. I suppose I could have gone for The Varukers or GBH for a bit more street cred. But they were shit. The Clash, by the point of this single release, had gone through the "Gob on you!" days and had started to dismiss the received wisdom of the day by learning to play their instruments and write songs with actual tunes. It's not as if they'd turned into Steely Dan or anything ( at least, not yet ) but they were certainly becoming more sophisticated. ( White Man ) In Hammersmith Palais is testament to this: a fusion of Punk and Reggae, far more potent than their earlier efforts to combine the two genres. The song chronicles the time that Clash-man Joe Strummer accompanied the legendary Don Letts ( DJ and future member of BAD ) to a Reggae gig at the equally-legendary Hammersmith Palais. Strummer was expecting some heavy Roots Reggae, cultural tourist that he was, but was disappointed to hear the more pop-slanted sounds of Ken Boothe. The song then moves on to various gripes about the state of the nation, deciding at its climax that the UK was in such a state that "If Adolph Hitler flew in today / They'd send a limousine anyway." The more things change etc. It's all a bit incoherent but that's part of its charm and the supremely confident playing, coupled with Strummer's snarling vocals, make it a top-drawer Punk classic. Even if it doesn't have a chorus to speak of...

So, that's my Top 3 all-time fave Punk songs ever, ever. Well, not really. They're all definitely up there, with the Pistols and Clash offerings obviously near the top... but, if you asked me tomorrow, I might say something different. The great thing about those years is that so many wonderful songs were released, so many beer- or amphetamine-fuelled anthems by and for angry youth. Mostly. A lot of this I experienced in a second-hand way, years later ( most of these singles were bought from second-hand record shops ), although I was definitely there for the likes of The Subhumans  -  pogo-ing around my rural bedroom as if I was some urban desperado, instead of a teenager with absolutely no conception of "life on the street". It was good, vicarious fun and opened my eyes to music, politics and attitudes that you didn't really see on Top Of The Pops. I've added some photos of some of my old singles here as a sample of the kind of thing I was listening to back in the day.

Alternative Ulster - Stiff Little Fingers / Ready Steady Go - Generation X / Safety In Numbers - The Adverts / Nazi Punks Fuck Off! - The Dead Kennedys / Warhead - UK Subs / No More Heroes - The Stranglers / California Uber Alles - The Dead Kennedys / The Cost Of Living e.p. - The Clash / Reality Asylum - Crass / Woman In Disguise - The Angelic Upstarts / No Room For You - Demob

And there's more...

And that's more than enough dodgy old Punk singles. Thanks to Tom for suggesting this synchronised blogging bonanza, can't wait to see his choices.

Punk Rock For Life!

30-Day Song Challenge Week 3

Up to my usual standards as ever, week three is a day late but ( hopefully ) worth it.
Okay, pop pickers, here we go with this week's rundown...

Day 15  -  A song you like that's a cover by another artist
One of my fave loud, weird bands ( Pixies ) covering another of my fave loud, weird bands ( Jesus &Mary Chain ) at 100 mph - not your John Lewis ad type of cover...
Head On by Pixies



Day 16  -  A song that's a classic favourite
This category's open to wide interpretation. I'm going way back with one of my fave songs from one of my fave movies
Singin' In The Rain by Gene Kelly



Day 17  -  A song you'd sing a duet with someone on karaoke
In the unlikely event this ever happened I'd go with ( Engage sarcasm mode. Sarcasm mode engaged. ) this romantic, classic duet from Husker Du - New Day Rising



Day 18  -  A song from the year you were born
Virtually impossible to pick just one song from 1966, pop's annus mirabilis ( Latin? at this time of day? ), but I'm going with this masterpiece from Tina Turner and Phil Spector. I mean, I could have picked songs from The Beatles, Stones, Temptations, Dylan, Byrds, Kinks, Supremes, Dusty, Wilson Pickett, Beach Boys, Four Tops... the list goes on...
River Deep Mountain High by Tina Turner




Day 19  -  A song that makes you think about life
Breathe by Pink Floyd from their emotional Live8 reunion in 2005 Just like Dave Gilmour here, I may have something in my eye




Day 20  -  A song that has many meanings to you
I'm cheating slightly here as it's technically more than one song. I wrote about Abbey Road and this song ( and my feelings for both ) on my old 15 Albums blog...
The "Long Medley" by The Beatles




Day 21  -  A song you like with a person's name in the title
Some folkin' folk music crossed with electronica. My first choice was See Emily Play by Pink Floyd but I've already posted a Floyd song. Plus I thought I should go with something more recent before this all turns into one big nostalgia fest
Jon Taylor's Month Away by King Creosote



My apologies for the different fonts on display here  -  I've copied and pasted some of this from my Twitter page and it doesn't fit too well. I wanted to get this post done today and not let things drag on for too long, so it's a bit rough 'n' ready. Unlike myself. I'm smooth as peaches and cream. That's gone through a blender. ( What am I talking about? Blame the lockdown ) I'll see if I can edit things when I get a minute...
Anyway, if anyone would like to take part and post some of their own fave songs in the comments that would be groovy, baby! See you next week pop pickerzzz.

30-Day Song Challenge Week 2

Day 8  -  A song about drugs or alcohol
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer by Queens Of The Stone Age



Okay, it's actually a song about drugs and alcohol  -  there's obviously never enough for Josh Homme. All together now: "Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, Ecstasy and alcohol, c-c-c-c-c-cocaine!"

Day 9  -  A song that makes you happy
My Girl by The Temptations



Yep, every time. "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day." And, just like that, the clouds part...

Day 10  -  A song that makes you sad
Shorley Wall by Ooberman



We've all got enough reasons to be sad at the moment but, anyway, this is just a beautiful song. It skirts close to being twee but the heart-rending ending monologue rescues it.

Day 11  -  A song you never get tired of
Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads



40 years after it was recorded this song still sounds totally unique  -  a masterpiece of twitchy, neurotic funk-pop. It's one of those few songs that I usually have to play twice in a row  -  it's never long enough.

Day 12  -  A song from your pre-teen years
Rubber Bullets by 10CC



When I was very young I was given a bunch of singles by an older friend which basically started my record collection. I've still got them and Rubber Bullets is still a favourite. The video above is actually the album version but the TOTP version I wanted to post is a heavily edited take of the single and, while it's a great view of a '70s band, this features more of the actual song...

Day 13  -  A song you like from the '70s
Search And Destroy by Iggy & The Stooges



When I was in the Death Planet Commandos we used to cover Search & Destroy ( everyone did! ) and it was just great fun to play. A proto-Punk classic!

Day 14  -  A song you'd love to be played at your wedding
Catch by The Cure



Actually a song we did have played at our wedding. Sarah and I were both great fans of The Cure and this was our "first dance" at our wedding disco. To be fair, the DJ probably got fed up with our lists of demands  -  play this, play that, no bloody "Agadoo" etc. etc.


So, Week 2 accomplished with a minimum of effort and even a guest appearance by Zia from the Dandy Warhols! ( Not that she knows about it but I'm sure she'd appreciate the sentiment and I know she digs a lot of the music here. )
If anyone else would like to join in I'd love to see your choices, just drop me a comment.
See you next week, same time, same channel ( probably )

The Skids at The Brook, Southampton and the Guildhall, Gloucester

Over a couple of weekends in February I've been privileged to see one of my absolute fave live bands put on two cracking gigs in two great venues. I'm talking of course of the mighty Skids, improbably but wonderfully reborn and reinvigorated for the 21st century. My friends in Borrowed Time had supported Richard Jobson and co. on half a dozen dates of this tour and so, when I was asked if I wanted to go down to Southampton in the van with the BT boys, I couldn't say no. ( Well, I say "boys" but the lovely Helen was driving the van and running the merch stall too. What a star! )

The Brook in Southampton was a cool venue  -  an old pub converted into an events space, deceptively large inside with a strangely hipster-friendly bar upstairs. I helped Borrowed Time load their gear into the venue and then we had the pleasure of watching Dunfermline's legendary Skids doing their soundcheck ( see photo above ). After a bit of instrumental noodling and setting levels on the mixing desk, Jobbo came onto the stage, gave my mate Glenn a quick salute, and then they were straight down to business.They played a spine-tingling version of the epic Arena and then a jaw-dropping cover of Bowie's "Heroes"  -  it was a special moment, a real privilege to see and hear ahead of the actual gig. Below are Cliff and Glenn from Borrowed Time, being heroes, just for one day...

After a quick trip to a local American-themed fast food joint for a tasty veggie burger and cheesy chips ( this is life on the road, folks! ) I had a very brief chat with Skids guitarist Jamie Watson and then headed back to The Brook to see Borrowed Time kick off the evening. ( Literally. Rob was doing high kicks all over his limited space on the cramped stage. )

The BT boys were on fine form  -  in fact, this was possibly the best gig I've seen them play. The almost constant gigging has paid off and they are now tighter and more professional than ever. They went down a storm with the Southampton audience who clamoured for signed CDs after the gig which must have made the band feel like they'd finally hit the big time. It was a lot of fun, especially for me and Helen who were down the front as the only representatives of the band's home fanbase, and could see how engaged the Soton punks were with the set. Glenn even dedicated the song Oceans to me. Which was nice.

And then it was time for the main event. The traditional back-masked burbling of Peaceful Times heralded the appearance of The Skids who hit the stage running with the powerful punch of Animation, followed by the stop-start lunacy that is Of One Skin. The crowd went absolutely nuts for this one which really set the tone for the evening.

The audience was a seething mass of excitement ( no, really! ) as the band pummelled us with such titanic, singalong classics as Hurry On Boys, Working For The Yankee Dollar and The Saints Are Coming, while also dropping in a couple of crowd-pleasing songs from their comeback album, Kings Of The New World Order and One Last Chance. Jobbo was his usual ebullient, entertaining self, telling his tall tales of 1970s celebrity encounters ( TOTP, DLT. Pan's People, Saville ) and praising the previous night's audience in Swansea ( "Say what you like about the Welsh, they can fuckin' SING!" ) while challenging us to do better. Well, we certainly tried if my totally knackered voice the next morning was anything to go by.

Highlights of the set were a majestic version of A Woman In Winter ( my all-time fave Skids song ), a bruising, set-closing Out Of Town and the obligatory shout-along of TV Stars  -  Albert Tatlock!
TBH I could have done without the pointless cover version medley of Pretty Vacant and What Do I Get? ( which at least had some relevance when I saw them last, a couple of days after Pete Shelley died ) but the Southampton crowd loved that cheesy slice of Punk karaoke. And it was more than compensated for by two showings for the rollercoaster melancholy ( is there such a thing? ) of The Saints Are Coming, half way through the set and then again as an extra encore, Jobbo leading the crowd a capella -style through its mighty chorus.
This was a cracking gig  -  maybe my fave Skids performance and certainly the one to beat this year for any other band. It was loud, it was sweaty, I got covered in beer and pushed around... and I loved it! All too soon it came to an end, we hung around and chatted for a while ( briefly with Skids bass player, the legendary Bill Simpson ), loaded the gear back into the van, and then set off back to the Shire. It had been a truly wonderful day  -  thanks to Borrowed Time!

And a week later we did it all again, this time in my favourite venue the Gloucester Guildhall! ( As much as I love it, the Guildhall has gone down in my estimation over the last couple of years for relying heavily on dodgy tribute bands. Hopefully this Skids gig was evidence that there's still room for "proper" bands. ) This was intended as the final night of the tour, which made it very special, but another date had been added in Colchester which slightly undermined the Gloucester gig  -  and meant a lot more driving for the Skids tour mini-bus! Anyway, the buzz of anticipation was loud as I reached the Guildhall and located the BT boys, working their way through the backstage "rider". And this excitement had also brought many "old" faces from the local scene out for the night: the mighty Mark B ( my former comrade in the Death Planet Commandos), Andy K ( Demob / Noise Agents ), Baz ( Noise Agents / Borrowed Time ), those Bristol girls Nicky & Lindsey, Tony The Nose, Jamie & Sarah, Ben R ( Chinese Burn legend! ) and many more. It was great to see so many lovely people turn out for The Skids... and Borrowed Time...

There had been a few nerves in the BT camp ahead of this gig  -  the pressure was on as it was their first home town gig in some while and many contemporaries were there to see them  -  but I'm glad to say that ( apart from a couple of bum notes ) the boys smashed it! Songs like Bad Stranger, Under The Radar and The Day We Broke The World went down a treat with the Skids fans, and singer Rob was in fine, cocky form  -  throwing his disgusting socks into the audience and throwing some Yoga shapes on stage, while baiting fans from the Forest Of Dean: "Is there anyone in from the Forest tonight? Yeah? Thank God, I thought it was the drains." And they still made it out alive!
So, a triumphant last night of the tour for the guys. Glenn has said to me on more than one occasion "How did we get here? Who thought we'd end up supporting The Skids in our 50s?" It just shows that talent and hard work pay off even if you're living on borrowed time...

And then it was Skids time! Fife's finest came out to a rapturous welcome from the usually reserved Gloucester audience and went straight into Animation and Of One Skin. Yeah... the set was almost identical to the week before ( as well as a lot of Jobbo's patter ) which was fine because, hey it's The Skids!, but it did make things a bit predictable... here come the new songs, here's the Leo Sayer reference, here's the point where Jobbo introduces the band and calls guitarist Jamie "Ed Sheeran" and so on. It's a minor grumble because the band's performance was out of this world and the Guildhall did them proud with excellent sound and lighting, as ever.
One of the highlights of the gig was spotting fellow blogger David of David Rose's Gig Diaries fame in the crowd. I've been following David's excellent blog for a few years now and it was a pleasure to meet him at last. We managed to chat a bit during the mayhem and hopefully we'll catch up at other gigs further down the road.

( This photo above captures Bruce and Jamie Watson just before one of their Thin Lizzy-like double guitar showdowns. Which are awesome! )
After playing solid gold hits like Circus Games, Masquerade and ( of course! ) Into The Valley the
band played a glorious Scared To Dance, as the 23rd of February was 40 years to the day that the album was released. They then went one further and floored us all by dropping the set-listed Happy To Be With You and pulling out their cover of "Heroes"  -  which was just sublime. A wonderful moment in a wonderful night. And after a final, bruising reprise of Of One Skin, in which I got crushed against the stage barrier by the rabid crowd and unfortunately lost track of David, The Skids were gone.
I said a few words to some of the lovely people there who were similarly knocked out by the bands' performances and then headed for home, tired but happy. What a gig! In fact, what a pair of gigs!

Pete Shelley

I was very saddened to hear last night of the passing of Pete Shelley, the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Buzzcocks. Shelley was one of the great pop songwriters of his time  -  the urgent, scratchy, punky sound of Buzzcocks never overshadowing his alternately heartfelt and ironic songs of teenage love and angst.

I only saw the band play live three times over the years but each gig was memorable and a lot of fun. I first saw them when they'd only recently reformed back in 1993 at the long-gone Northwick Theatre in Worcester, then at the Stroud Subscription Rooms in 2016 ( above ) and at Bath's Komedia earlier this year.
Each gig demonstrated Buzzcocks' mastery of deceptively simple, catchy, joyous pop-punk anthems, crafted with love, anger and often just a little knowing campness. At the heart of this was Pete Shelley, a pop poet with a wry take on love, life and relationships. There really aren't many like him left...

RIP Pete and thanks for all the wonderful songs

Peter Campbell McNeish ( aka Pete Shelley ) 17th April 1955 - 6th December 2018

Trapped In A Cult

A few weeks back I finally decided enough was enough and dropped out of society to join a mysterious cult. Well, only for about two hours on a Sunday afternoon...

This was actually my debut as an extra in the video for the mighty Borrowed Time's new song Trapped In A Cult. Here are my fellow cult members above. ( I'm the one flicking "Peace" signs... I think... )
I turned up at Two Rivers Studios in Cheltenham for my indoctrination into the cult and instantly found myself on bubble-blowing duties. ( Please try not to think of that outrageous old Michael Jackson joke at this point. ) Yes, I had to stand in front of the band while they were filming a "psychedelic" middle-eight and blow bubbles from one of those cheap kids' bubble-blowers until I was blue in the face. All for about 1/2 a second of screen-time :-)
Here are four of the 5 BT boys in full hippie regalia, going for a Bohemian Rhapsody vibe:

The band had by this point finished their filming ( they'd been there all day ) and now it was time for the cult to assemble. Drummer Marcus assumed the role of cult leader and stood on the stage gesticulating ( he's that kind of bloke ) while us cultists marched forwards and reached out to our leader as if he were the messiah, and not just a very naughty boy. The director filmed various different takes of this from many different angles and then filmed us miming the letters "C -U -L -T" like some kind of Punk Rock Village People. It was all good cult-y fun. Finally Marcus put his hippie rags back on and surrounded himself with groupies. It's hard work being a revered leader...

And here are two fully paid-up cult members for life, the lovely Carol and superstar Chinese Burn bassist Ed...

It was great fun being a cult member for an afternoon and interesting to see behind the scenes of a video shoot. And below is the finished article which I think is pretty bloody good. ( If you squint really hard you can see me in the centre of the screen around the 1:36 mark, reaching up for absolution from my guru... )