Obituary - Mark Keds

In the early hours of Sunday 10 January 2021, Mark Myers, better known as Mark Keds - vocalist and guitarist in SENSELESS THINGS and DEADCUTS among others, passed away at his home. The news was confirmed by SENSELESS THINGS guitarist Ben Harding but the cause of death remains unknown. He was aged 50. 

It was at the age of 11, in Twickenham, West London, that Keds first hooked up with Morgan Nicholls to form WILD DIVISION before being joined by Cass Browne in THE PSYCHOTICS. Harding joined the band in 1987 and the definitive SENSELESS THINGS were formed. 

Playing a brand of pacey, melodic Punk, the band become leading lights in the late 80s/ early 90s UK Punk scene - along with the likes of MEGA CITY FOUR and SNUFF - with the release of their debut album ‘Postcard CV’ in 1989. 1991 saw the band sign to major label Epic Records and instantly scoring their first Top 50 hit with ‘Got It At The Delmar’. Two Top 20 hits followed along with performances on Top Of The Pops and The Word. 

In 1995, SENSELESS THINGS took a break and Keds joined UK rockers THE WILDHEARTS before forming JOLT and releasing the ‘Punk Jungle Rules’ album in 1997. 

Of his other projects, he received a writing credit on THE LIBERTINES single ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ and played with TRIP FONTAINE, THE LAMS and most recently DEADCUTS with his SENSELESS THINGS band mate Cass. 

SENSELESS THINGS had one final fling at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire in 2017. 

Although the cause of death is unknown, Harding stated, “"It’s no secret that he had struggled on and off with drug abuse and a pretty chaotic lifestyle for a long while, and his health suffered substantially over the years due to this. While this had sometimes created friction within the on-off workings of Senseless Things and his other projects, we choose to remember the friend, the brother and the talent we’ve lost today."

I saw SENSELESS THINGS frequently in Ipswich, UK. Thanks to both PERFECT DAZE and LOVEJUNK, the band would often be seen playing in small pubs through to larger halls. Tragically, the one time they really blew me away was a The Hanger - a larger hall at the rear of a pub called The Dove. Why tragic? The whole night was plagued with power cuts and, after about six incendiary songs, the power went off for a final time. They were always fun to see but that one short performance was next level.

I never knew Mark personally but recall him at these gigs. 

Thoughts go out to his family and friends.  

Show Time

The Stranglers

THE STRANGLERS - RUTS DC - Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand - 2nd February 2018
It’s been 31 years (yep - thirty one!!) since I last saw THE STRANGLERS - and that wasn’t even the first time! It was on the ‘Dream Time’ tour and they stopped in Ipswich. That was back when Hugh Cornwall was still in them. Hugh actually jumped in the crowd that night to pull a guy outta the audience who had been spitting at them. The guy had had a warning before letting another big greeny go, so Hugh jumped into the throng at the front of the stage at the Ipswich Gaumont and hauled the gobber onto the stage. The band then proceeded to take said gobber’s trousers and undies down, exposing his weener to all of us laughing and shouting Ipswich Punks! Then a banana was produced, peeled and stuffed on the gobber’s gonads, undies and trousers very roughly pulled up squishing the ‘nana and skin in his undies, before Mr. Gobber was given to the roadies!! That remains one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen at a show.
Anyway, I lost interest in the band after Hugh left; to me he was very intrinsic to the make-up of the band, even though musically they always pivoted around Dave Greenfield’s keyboards and that monstrous, pounding bass of JJ Burnel. This show was billed as the ‘Classic Collection’, which is pretty self-explanatory. So, with the added bonus of RUTS DC, I got my ticket and headed to a rain-soaked Auckland to see THE STRANGLERS for, what I had and still have no doubts about, the last time.

Ruts DC

I’d never been to Auckland Town Hall before. It’s a typical town hall theatre complete with balcony (which spans round virtually to the stage), good sound and over-priced beer. I mean, $9 for a bottle of fucking Heineken??!! Thankfully I managed to squeeze in a good few pints of Guinness in the pub beforehand, so the Heinie topped things off nicely.
All too soon, RUTS DC came on looking very dapper for a bunch of fellas who are probably very close to drawing their pension! The band’s last album, ‘Music Must Destroy’ is a total cracker and they launched with a track from that - ‘Surprise’. From there it was a totally classy performance of classic RUTS and tracks from that new album. It’d be pretty pointless saying what the highlights were as every track, ummm,... Destroyed. ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’, ‘West One’, ‘Music Must Destroy’, ‘Kill The Pain’, ‘Jah War’, ‘In A Rut’, ‘Babylon’s Burning’ and closer ‘Psychic Attack’. The only fault was the set was way too short.
These guys are seasoned, quality musicians. Drummer Dave Ruffy in particular didn’t drop a beat and played those old, complicated RUTS rhythms without fault. Both guitarist Leigh Heggarty and bassist Segs looked great too, often drawing in tight around the drum kit to really lock in. Segs also made the comment of the evening asking, with a distinct smirk, who was going to see the Foo Fighters the following night in some hideous stadium. Surprisingly, a lot (too many?) of the crowd were... “I shouldn’t be so cheeky should I?” was his reply!!
I was hoping for an encore - but alas no....

Ruts DC

So it was left to the other set of near-pensioners to try and follow that. Kicking off with the moody and magnificent ‘WaltzInBlack’, I had high hopes. Then I got the first of many songs during the night that I didn’t know. ‘Was It You’ appeared third from the ‘Dream Time’ album. It’s a track I always liked and was pleased to see its inclusion here - particularly with JJ sounding so impressive. The first real hit of the night though (and I mean sonic hit as well as hit single) was ‘(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)’ that saw that bass simply pound out and made all that went before it seem rather tame. From there we got a good number of the Classic Collection - ‘Hanging Around’, ‘Golden Brown’, ‘Walk On By’, ‘Always The Sun’, ‘Nice ‘n Sleazy’, ‘Nuclear Device’, ‘Tank’, ‘Go Buddy Go’ and most surprisingly, ‘Just Like Nothing On Earth’.
Hugh’s latest replacement, Baz Warne, did a fair sounding impression of him I concur, but that sense of intimidation that I’d always experienced at previous STRANGLERS gigs was noticeably lacking. Maybe it’s cuz I’m 31 years older too!! Dave did a stunning one-handed keyboard solo (I think during ‘Walk On By’) while drinking a beer (or water) before scrunching the cup and heading it away. It got one of the biggest cheers of the night and seemed to put the biggest of smiles on the collective face of the band. Incidentally, I didn’t realise drummer Jet Black had left the fold either.
My own personal favourite, ‘Duchess’ got aired (first STRANGLERS record I ever bought dontcha know!), ‘No More Heroes’ was part of the encore - and then they were gone.

The Stranglers

Classic Collection?? My arse was it!! No ‘Peaches’, no ‘Straighten Out’, no ‘Five Minutes’, no ‘Strange Little Girl’, no ‘Skin Deep’, no ‘Something Better Change’ let alone ‘Death And Night And Blood’ or ‘Dagenham Dave’. There were about 10 songs I didn’t know and while both ‘15 Steps’ and ‘Norfolk Coast’ were good (the former in particular), neither are ‘Peaches’.
I felt a bit unfulfilled on leaving. While the good bits were great (let’s face it, the good songs are fucking classics and they were played well), there’s no denying my attention wandered and that tension I always associated with the band had gone.
Yep, this was definitely the last time I’ll see THE STRANGLERS - unless, maybe, Hugh rejoins.

  

Show Time

ADAM ANT - DIANA ANAID - The Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand - 9th October 2017
Back in 1980, aged a mere 11, I was quite an Ant Fan! I had all the singles but felt I needed more. So, one Saturday while shopping in town with my Mum, and after having saved my pocket money, I ended making the first album I ever bought ADAM AND THE ANTS’ ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’. It’s an album that has stayed in my collection ever since and it still sounds superb today, with those fantastic, tribal drums and Marco’s menacing guitar lead lines.
So, when I heard that ADAM ANT was going to be playing the album in full live (plus assorted hits) here in New Zealand, I had to go. I’ll admit I was a tad concerned at the idea of seeing a man in his early 60s try to relive the genuine ‘Pop Star’ status he had 35+ years ago, but reasoned with myself that ‘Kings....’ was the first album I ever bought, so attendance for me was pretty much mandatory.
Before the event, several friends in the UK said that ADAM was in fine form so my expectations were heightened - but I was still a tad apprehensive. Thankfully, The Powerstation is not just Auckland’s best venue, but among the best I’ve been to anywhere in the world (unlike the fucking Studio), so I knew sound and vision would be top notch. Merchandise proved ANT still has ‘Pop Star’ status however...$50 for a t-shirt, $60 for a signed photo... Pah! Lots of people were buying the shirts, and good on them for that. I passed.
With a beer lovingly nestled in my hand, I awaited the arrival of DIANA ANAID. Never heard of her before but apparently she’s from Australia and used to be known as Diana ah Naid and has released about half-a-dozen albums. It was just her and her guitar and, much as I love those solo singer-songwriter types, she pretty much passed me by. I remember a song called ‘I Go Off’ and one about same-sex marriage, but that was about it. Her vocals were a bit over-performed for me, although the guitar sounded good. However, I wanted to hear some Ant Music, not Alt-country music. 
The arrival of ADAM ANT and his band was met with an orchestral fanfare before the dual drumbeats of ‘Dog Eat Dog’ kicked in. While the two drums sounded bombastic, I noticed there was no original ANTS in the line-up, which was a disappointment. However, the band was top-notch, both looking and sounding good. ADAM bound on, hero’s reception and - by jingoes - sounded great!!

‘Ant Music’ and the rest of the ‘Kings....’ album followed. Highlights were certainly the album’s darker tracks - ‘Feed Me To The Lions’, the double hit of ‘Ants Invasion’ (a personal favourite) and ‘Killer In The Home’, along with the stunning title track and album closer ‘The Human Beings’.
With the album having been played, ANT finally decided to address the crowd. He’d made the odd cheeky suggestion during the album, but it wasn’t until it was complete that he finally addressed the crowd. I was anticipating about 30 minutes of the ‘obvious’ other hits but he kicked off the non-’Kings...’ set with a complete surprise - ‘Beat My Guest’, the b-side of the ‘Stand And Deliver’ single. It’s always been a fave track (and wafts stuff like ‘Making History’ and ‘Los Rancheros’ from ‘Kings...’) and it was played with total intensity. This second part of the set actually went on for over an hour with other highlights being ‘Friend Or Foe’ (another track that could’ve made ‘Kings...’ better) that saw the dual drumming really grab the attention with those tribal, tom heavy beats, a set-stealing ‘Xerox’, ‘Car Trouble’, ‘S.E.X’ and, of course, a set closing ‘Stand And Deliver’. ‘Prince Charming’ was played (not that effectively but it’s far from an ANT classic, even though it was a huge hit) and both ‘Strip’ and ‘Ant Rap’ could’ve been ditched in favour of ‘Young Parisians’ and ‘Kick’. Small criticisms really - but that’s my opinion. Encores were ‘Good Two Shoes’ and a monstrous, riff heavy blast through ‘Physical (You’re So)’ that singed the ears.
Have to say guitarist, Will Crewdson, made the absence of Marco a virtual bonus. He looked fucking fantastic (surely a pre-requisite for an Ant though!) and played a smoking guitar, be it those leads from ‘Kings...’ which sound almost Spaghetti Western(Ish), to heavy duty riffing and onto the dam-busting, STOOGES-esque guitar noise during ‘Phsyical’. He didn’t really put a foot wrong from what I saw AND he plays his guitar low - just like all the greats! The rest of the band were really on form too.
And ADAM? Yeah, he’s still got ‘it’ - whatever ‘it’ is. He wore the tunic for the ‘Kings..’ set (but not the white nose stripe) and looked great with longish hair, the ends of which appeared to be dyed red. His voice surely was not broken, he put in the hard work, could still move with the best of them and seemed genuinely enthused by the reception he got at his first ever New Zealand gig.
So, was I happy I went? Too right I was!! The dual drumming was spot on (plus the addition of two floor toms for additional tribal percussion!), the set list was massive, the performance passionate and the execution way better than I could have dreamed.
Still didn’t inspire me to buy a $50 t-shirt though!

Show Time!

THE SPECIALS - NEWMATICS - Shed 10, Queens Wharf, Auckland, New Zealand - 10th April 2012

I thought I’d missed the boat; the boat being THE SPECIALS live experience. Among the very first records I bought back in 1980 at the tender age of 11, was the ‘Too Much Too Young’ EP, which remains a firm favourite of mine to this day. Obviously, I was too much too young to see the band then.

Move forward to 2009, I’m living in New Zealand and the band announces some reformation dates in the UK, but minus the band’s main creative force, Jerry Dammers. "Sad old tossers," I thought. "Milking the legend and boosting the bank balance." Snag is, many friends of mine saw the band on this tour and said they were smoking. "Well, it ain’t THE SPECIALS without Dammers," was my rather half-hearted conciliation.

But then a New Zealand show is announced! "OK, I’m going..." I thought. Second snag - it’s the very same night I was flying back to the UK to see my none-too-well Mum. Oh well, "It ain’t THE SPECIALS without Dammers...."

Soon after I saw the live DVD of the reunion tour and it was obvious: the gig was indeed out of this world - Dammers or not! More than a tad gutted, I resigned myself to never hearing ‘Too Much Too Young’ live by the band that recorded it.

Come 2012 and there is another NZ show announced and this time, no matter what (including a new job which didn’t really entitle me to any time off so soon after starting it), I was going. Chuffed. Prior to this Auckland show, the band had just done about five Australian gigs. The final night of a tour is always risky; while there is the possibility of watching THE show of the tour, there is also the greater possibility of a tired and jaded band, or one too intent on end-of-tour celebrations to give a shit about the music.

So, on a humid and surprising hot early April evening, I walked to the Auckland waterfront and entered what was basically a huge tin shed with a concrete floor - a venue that calls itself Shed 10. I had visions of the sound bouncing off all of these hard surfaces making just one big Rude Boy mash-up of noise. Thankfully, due to a rather low ceiling and heaps of wooden beams, somehow the reflections were absorbed, making the sound quality among the best I’ve heard.

So, with an over-priced beer in my hand, I awaited my debut experience of New Zealand’s own vintage Ska crew, NEWMATICS. The band played a more Funk-orientated take on Ska and while they were far from dull, they never really excited me as much as I had hoped. It was all rather polished and while vintage tunes like ‘Five Miseries’ and ‘Playing the Champion’ entertained, a lot of the remainder was filler. My fave song, ‘Walkie Talkies’, never made the show, but the closing ‘Riot Squad’ was certainly the band’s finest moment. After a mere 30 minute set, the band had gone.

And so THE SPECIALS. I’d read the band promised a different show from the 2009 tour (as seen on the aforementioned DVD) and it was instantly apparent with an almost acapella introduction to opener ‘Do The Dog’. Once the band kicked in, a non-stop celebration started up as the diverse crowd (and I mean young and old Punks, a few hippies, some old Skinheads, a good number of suited-and-booted Rude Boys and plenty of Joe Normals) skanked, grooved and sang along to every song.

Highlights were plenty: a stunningly pointed and graphic ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’, the sublime quality of ‘Do Nothing’, a mega-up tempo ‘Monkey Man’, ‘Hey Little Rich Girl’ that got dedicated to the recently deceased Amy Winehouse, ‘A Message To You Rudy’ that received the biggest cheer of the night and the mass singalong set closer ‘Enjoy Yourself’.

The band clearly appeared to be having a good time. Lynval in particular seemed to be the heart of the band, constantly smiling and dancing, climbing the PA columns and being chatty with the crowd while Neville Staples was pretty much the voice of the band imploring the crowd to dance harder and sing louder. The famed sardonic wit of Terry Hall was in evidence too, suggesting that he was ‘bored’ and wanted a ‘nice cup of tea’ while also saying the venue needed ‘a good dust’. With Roddy Radiation pulling his rock ‘n’ roll poses at the front, it’s often easy to forget the duo that make THE SPECIALS such a formidable live at - Horace Panter and John Bradbury form an incredibly tight and effective rhythm section that allows the rest of the band a great deal of freedom. And as for Jerry Dammers replacement? Well... Jerry who???

As for surprises, well, there was no ‘Ghost Town’ nor ‘Guns Of Navarone’ this time around. In their place came ‘International Jet Set’, and ‘Too Hot’ (the entire first album was played in fact). I’d hoped ‘Why’ may make an appearance but no. The fact the venue had a low ceiling also created a bit of a surprise as there was no room for any over-head lighting. The massive SPECIALS backdrop was there again, but with stage and floor level lighting in front of it creating a more intimate yet slightly threatening and oppressive feel.

Close on to two hours after hitting the stage, the encores of ‘Little Bitch’ and ‘You’re Wondering Now’ signalled showtime was over and all that remained in Shed 10 was a lot of smiling, sweaty people all proclaiming that it had been a great night.

And yes, I did finally get to hear ‘Too Much Too Young’ live and it lived up to each and every expectation I had.
More photos here.

Show Time!

REBELLION FESTIVAL, Blackpool UK, 6th-9th August 2009

Every year you hear the same thing – “It’s like one of those old teddy boy conventions”. Really? Did the teddy boys have 40 or 50 new bands (many of them good) at a festival to choose from? Or maybe the whingers and moaners themselves are the jaded old cunts. One of the worst days in my life was the day of Xmas On Earth in 1981 – an all dayer (a new concept back then) in Leeds that I’d saved up for for months. I didn’t even get three miles before the bus got stuck in a snowdrift. Imagine if I knew then that one day there’d be four whole days of Punk Rock with bands from all over the world on three or four stages! I can understand those on the dole or a low wage giving it a miss – the various costs soon mount up – but many of the biggest critics have good jobs, and will be sitting in their rocking chairs in 20 years time saying “I wished I….”
THURSDAY
A four hour bus journey later it was check in at the B&B and straight off to the venue where GEOFFREY OICOTT were setting up in The Arena. You probably know the script by now – Yorkshire Oi band who sing about cricket, with plenty of double entendres thrown in – for example 'Bouncers', a reference to awkward bowling practice or a dig at our friends in security? Then there’s 'LBW' which, turns out, is short for 'Lager Before Women' (I got a LBW bottle opener when they played the toon, Dawn wasn’t impressed!) Musically they are basic (but powerful) Oi with CONDEMNED 84 style vocals (no comparisons politically though!) and they put on a good show, playing most of the songs from 'The Good The Bad And The Googly' LP and also a couple off the new 7”, 'I Was Monty’s Double' (including the PARTISANS cover, now christened '17 Pints of Ale'!).
It was all change this year as the main bar became the home of acoustic acts which made for difficult conversations over a pint (which incidently was £2.80 or £3 depending on if you got the dodgy barman. Good pint of snakey as long as you avoided the gig rooms cos they had fucking Strongbow Extra Cold, which is just plain wrong.). Meanwhile the Pavillion was turned over to an art show for most of the time which didn’t amuse the stallholders as it meant less prospective punters passing through.
The rest of the night was spent mainly socialising, although we did catch the CUTE LEPERS in The Empress (2500 capacity yet somehow with a decent sound). Almost didn’t recognise them as Steve E Nix’s blond barnet is now a more conservative colour (did you see that? I used the word ‘conservative’ without also using the word ‘cunt’!). Anyway just about all their album on display plus one of their best songs 'Young Hearts' from the new split 7” with the DISCO LEPERS - basically THE BRIEFS with a bit 60’s melody thrown in. Dawn says the bird from THE NIPPLE ERECTORS made a guest appearance for one song, yet I was watching and didn’t even know (some reviewer!).
The hectic proceedings meant an early night for us (this became a bit of a theme, especially when toothache set in; sleep not helped by soft pillows, knobheads shouting in the streets till 5am and the loudest seagulls I’ve ever heard)
FRIDAY
Must go down in history as the most badly managed attempt at a review in history, for today we saw a whole TWO bands fully!! Socialising, drinking, afternoon kip, anything but what a reviewer shoulda been doing. I returned from my slumber to catch the PORK DUKES at 6.20pm. The Olympia now has two stages. The main stage from previous years (a complete waste of both the bands’ and the punters’ time), and another one at the side which sounds good if you’re in front of it. Luckily PORK DUKES were on the side stage. Not pretty, but a tight, powerful performance that had far more oomph than the original records. Songs from the heyday ('Telephone Masturbator', 'Big Tits' etc) to the 2nd LP ('…Gun For Xmas') to the comeback stuff. Some cracking tunes over the years and music that is made for drinking. The sight of two fat, bald 50-yr-olds enjoying themselves will probably piss off the PC hypocrites even more (sexism = bad ; sizeism/ageism = perfectly acceptable).
It was good to see Bison back in the fold, manning the stall in the Olympia, selling zines like hotcakes and saving me ending up with arms like Lurch from the Addams Family. This is another good thing about Rebellion – there is always a huge selection of stalls, most of which have an ever changing selection of goodies throughout the weekend.
Dawn joined me for the new line up of DEMOB who played much the same set as the last time I seen em a few years ago. 'Teenage Adolescence', 'Anti Police' and 'Think Fast' still sounded mighty fine and 'No Room For You' of course brought the house down with no shortage of volunteers on backing vocals.
Off we went to see ARGY BARGY who these days play with the confidence of a band whose last album put them in the big league (I stole that description from Nigel from Derby, but nothing else sums em up better). They properly went for it… unfortunately the sound was fucking appalling. A swimming bath has better acoustics than the Olympia.
So pub, and another early night.
SATURDAY
By far the best line up, and what better start than LOS FASTIDIOS (pictured <) in the Empress. Good sound, lively performance, and all their best stuff including the ones about football, the Housemartins tribute, and a couple of more from their excellent new CD. Singalong Italian Oi/Ska/Punk (some of it in English) and making no bones where they stand politically (anti-fascist/vivisection/homophobia). 'Stay Rude Stay Rebel' seemed to have half the 500+ crowd skanking which ain’t bad for 2PM in the afternoon. Had to choose chilling time wisely today so off back to the B&B and back to venue for NEWTOWN NEUROTICS (which meant two of Dawn’s all-time faves within two hours, I really can’t understand the moaners). A new line up but virtually the same set – plenty of 'Beggars' LP ('The Mess' , 'Agony' etc), most of the singles including 'Kick Out The Tories' (which probably isn’t quite out of date yet unfortunately) and thankfully very little from the lacklustre 'Bolsheviks' LP. Had a quick chat with Mr Drewett who was chilling with his family in the bar later and I think he said Colin can’t gig anymore for health reasons (bad back or something).
Took Dawn to a fancy restaurant (Harry Ramsdens) then I went back to see THE FREEZE. Clif Hanger must be pushing 50 but still jumped around like a lunatic. From the back the tunes were hard to make out, and they didn’t seem to be doing owt from their best CD ('Freak Show'), preferring instead to cater for the HC clientele, so I buggered off to see MAJOR ACCIDENT. Last time I saw em at Morecambe, they were great. Tonight they were lumbered with the Olympia stage and it was, quite honestly, painful to watch a good band destroyed by the acoustics of the Grand Canyon. 'Respectable' – never their finest moment – sounded especially out of tune (even though it probably wasn’t!) and I reluctantly departed for Scruffy Murphys (one of the few boozers with a decent pint, as long as ya stick to snakey).
Dawn left for the B&B but the AMEBIX slot had been given to LAST RESORT, which is like swapping a lifeboat for a tea bag, but who am I to complain? The last time I saw LAST RESORT was five years ago in Morecambe around about the time their comeback CD 'Resurrection' was released - pretty forgettable heavy Oi that seemed to be trying to be USHC like MADBALL (even the old songs/4-SKINS covers sounded metally that night). But what a difference five years makes. The new CD really is worthy of the subtitle 'Skinhead Anthems 2'. So we got the best songs off that ('Beyond The Promised Land', 'War Widow', 'Cockleshell Heroes' etc) mixed with the early classics, with a leaner meaner Roi Pearce leading the charge like a fully tattooed psychotic extra from Lock Stock. This was proper drinking music and 2000 strong crowd loved it.
SUNDAY
Having as much sleep as a Guantanamo detainee is not the best way to start the final day, but thankfully GIMP FIST (pictured <) can liven anyone up. Most of the classics from the first two CDs plus songs from their next album (to be recorded in November) like 'Heart & Soul' and 'Skinhead Not Bonehead' were played to a very respectable (for 1pm) crowd of about 700. Michael (drummer) drew the short straw and was absolutely besieged on the merch table afterwards. Two years ago I despaired at seeing a band so great play to 15 people in the Fish Tank (Durham) but now they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. If you want tunes that stay in your head, sussed lyrics and choruses bigger than a mighty elephant, look no further. A couple of jars with John from Wigan then off to see LAST ROUGH CAUSE who were Pop-Punk long before it meant out of tune American accents and rock school guitars. LRC’s now very sought after 7” was a cracking EP and the tracks accompanying it on 'Skins & Punks' split LP weren’t bad either, so I was really looking forward to seeing em. Sure enough the Olympia did not disappoint - or rather it did. You could put mattresses all over the walls of this place and it would still sound shit, and the turnout here was nothing short of disgraceful (about 40 people). Still good to hear 'Violent Few' etc again and lets hope they keep it going and play the toon sometime. Bumped em in the street later and they’re really good blokes; the drummer remembered me from years ago. It involved his record collection. Time to scarper! I had almost forgotten but, whilst waiting for LRC, we took in a band from Herts, CHARRED HEARTS, who gave a powerful, confident performance. I have no idea if this is a new band or an obscure KBD act who’ve just reformed but despite being my age or more (except the drummer who I think is the singer’s son, though you wouldn’t be able to tell as he clattered them like a pro) they were obviously here to entertain, the singer jumping over the barrier and handing the mic to a rather bored/confused looking YTS security type! Musically if you imagine old KBD bands like BLEACH BOYS with modern day heavy production. Had to square up with Tony (top man!) from the stalls which meant I missed most of KUNT & THE GANG but he went down a storm anyway. If you’ve seen him you’ll know exactly what to expect – depraved lyrics set to innocent sounding 80’s chart music. His videos are legendary (you MUST check out his My Space site). Songs include 'Fred and Rose' (“I’d murder a lodger for you”), 'Men With Beards' (“…what are they hiding, have they buried a body next to a railway siding”) and the very topical 'Michael Jackson Tribute' (“he was born black, he died white, and in the middle he fiddled with kids”) – the latter caused absolute riots on You Tube because genuine fans of the Paedo of Pop have been searching for their hero only to find THAT!! THE STUPIDS sounded the same as ever – powerful early 80s US influenced HC (but not nearly tuneful enough to hold yer attention for long) lost in the Olympia wall of echo. THE THREATS were thankfully playing the side stage at the Olympia. Like the PORK DUKES, they’re not pretty but they’re another kick in the teeth for the jaded absentees who moan that it’s all washed up heroes of yesteryear playing sluggish versions of their old stuff. Since coming back a decade ago or so, they have knocked out two powerful albums and are more powerful today than ever. Tracks from '12 Punk Moves' and 'God Is Not With Us Today' were mixed with the old classics like 'Writing On The Wall', 'Politicians And Ministers' and '1980s' and they played like a band out to make their very first impression on the world. A quick hiatus back at the B&B then I think it was back to a rescheduled CRAVATS. I loved 'Precinct' when I was a young un – in them days entertainment was walking round with a tape recorder usually blasting offensive tunes – so, as the song wasn’t peppered with expletives it musta been good – though I remember being disappointed by their LP ('XMP' excepted). I couldn’t, however, remember their most famous moment – 'Rub Me Out' (Crass Recs). No wonder. This is the song they kicked off with – an intolerable, arty jazz number. No tune or direction, it’s only purpose to irritate, although the band deserve kudos for suffering for their art, the sax player wearing an old East German army coat (that probably hadn’t seen the light of day since 1980) in the excruciating heat. That’s about as much as I could bear so it was off to my natural habitat, the bar. By now depression was setting in. The bar was half empty, and I ended up in a debate about USHC with Hebby (t-shirt magnate) and Shaun from VOORHEES. I still ended up none the wiser as to what constitutes good HC or bad HC (to me “It’s all a noise Alan”) and I thought I’d better check out KILLING JOKE in the Empress. Most of the remaining punters obviously had the same idea. I only ever liked about three songs by em ('Wardance', 'Psyche', and 'Complications') but I’d heard they were some act live. Well stood at the back, it just seemed like a wall of echo with a deranged Michael Jackson lookalike walking back and forwards shouting “Change!”. That will probably knark diehards like ebay Lee, but unless a band has lots of good tunes that is probably as far as I delve at this stage of proceedings, so back to the bar and they’re still on about bands who go “shout shout shout”… and we’re just about the only ones left in there. Doom, gloom. I had promised to help load out for John (Overground) after the gig, but being the only person left in the stalls area I was no doubt suspected of being a wrong un and ushered out of the building, leaving a less than amused John when the gig finished. Mondays in Blackpool are always suitably bleak. It pisses down, you’re kicked out of the B&B at 10am and the bus doesn’t come till 3pm. But we will be back next year with a vengeance (and hopefully not toothache). It remains the greatest holiday on earth. Next year tips – scrap the big stage in the Olympia (keep the small one), and turn it over to the art show, and possibly a Punk Rock market/car boot sale where ordinary Punkers can pay a small amount for a small stall for a day to sell their cast offs, records, CDs etc. Use the Pavillion for bands instead.

Trev Howarth (Myspace)