The SLF footage was from a later event in Brockwell Park, Brixton. The Clash were a late addition to the bill in Victoria Park. I was going anyway...(a shout out to 'Mad Giles' who I went with and is in pretty poor health these days - don't do drugs, kids!)...we didn't do the march as we'd played football that morning and time was not our friend. It was insane, there were so many people there, even compared to 100,000 at Wembley...it felt like we were taking over the city. I've met Ray Gange a few times at Joe Strummer memorials. He's mates with Joe Williams of 48 Thrills, who I've known for a couple of decades and used to work with. Gange tries to interest me in selling my leopard print teddy boy coat...but he's wasting his time. I'm being buried in it, to prevent the rest of my family fighting over who gets custody of it. I was at that GLC gig. It was the first time that I saw Billy Bragg. Just about everyone of those gigs rightly featured a top reggae band. Steel Pulse played the Victoria Park RAR gig. It's a real shame that there's so little footage of the other bands at those gigs. If you haven't seen it, this film is really good and on one of Netflix/Amazon Prime..
I actually saw White Riot at a screening in December 2020 at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell of all places and yes it is superb. The saddest thing is that there were only 4 of us in the place, myself and my other half and another couple. Actually there were 5 if you include the elderly lady that checked our tickets although I don't think she was all that excited at the prospect, and she wasn't even handing out Strawberry Mivis so she was pretty superfluous actually!
That's such a shame. I went to a showcasing of Fred Burns' (Captains son) film about Johnny Moped the night Germany blitzkrieged Brazil and Stanley Tech Hall was nearly full. Then again, Croydon is a Punk Rock town.... Some places don't get it in the same way. Most decent pubs in Croydon have some punk on the jukebox. It's the sound of the place
When you know them as well as some of us do, it's possible to become forgetful of just how ridiculously great this single and New Boots and Panties were...and still are. I went through a phase of listening to them most nights for about a week, a couple of months back. Unbelievably good and a joy forever.
Overlooked by many as to what a tight band the Blockheads were ,New Boots and Do it yourself are classics
And the previous version, Kilburn & the High Roads ...saw both several times. Great bands, technically excellent musicians and great song-writing. Crossed the genres of new wave/punk and rock effortlessly. Even Wilko Johnson joined them for an album if I recall although never saw those gigs.
Without question the Blockheads live were a fabulous band and Dury himself such an amazing front man, not a singer but an extraordinary vocalist. The individual musicianship of each member of the band was just amazing - I only saw them a couple of times the last time at Margate in 1980 with Wilko who gave the band a different dynamic to Chaz Jankel. The joy of the entire audience singing ****ing Ada at the end of the gig will live with me forever.
I saw both bands over the years and Dury could be a cantankerous old git at times but on form he could work the crowd , sad day when he left us
He was what he was... We met him after a gig - think it was the Roundhouse. Mate knew him well. In great form for 30 mins then it was like a switch flicked. Turned into an ogre for no reason and started ranting for no reason. Stormed off then came back 10 mins later like nothing had happened!
I could be wrong but I seem to remember Thanks for that Brian mentioning this gig recently. Not only is it one of my favourite Damned tracks from my favourite Damned LP but it's also a cracking version!
I know we're celebrating Jet's birthday but can we just pause for a moment to acknowledge the fact that JJ really is the coolest ****er ever!
It was a great night. There have been a few really landmark gigs for the boys lately - The 100 Club 35th anniversary, The Royal Albert Hall 40th anniversary, supporting The Misfits at Madison Square Gardens and this one @ The Palladium. In my opinion, this was the best of the lot. The tie-in with The Hammer House of Horror was unique and really worked well...and Dave transforming into Nosferatu during the interval (and for about 5 minutes into the second half, where he sang from the dressing room) for the first time since '79 was great... please log in to view this image ...even known Damned fan Jimmy Page turned up to join in the fun. He was in the box nearest to the circle, close to where we were sitting and seemed to be enjoying himself and chatting with a LOT of people. The Blu-Ray (no DVD, sadly), CD and vinyl come out on Halloween (natch) and have been long awaited. The best deals on offer are from HMV and Townsend Music - £22.99 for the CD and DVD including postage. Various 'glo in the dark' or blood red vinyl options are available for serious vinyl collectors...or those with deeper pockets than your truly. P9C7 is, in my opinion, the best of The Damned post-77. There are songs that I love as much, or nearly as much, but if I had to pick one song that encapsulated what they are about, it would be this one. ****ing brilliant!
Loving the advert for the releases... ..."Witness unspeakable acts!" - not so much for those of us who have seen Captain playing naked from the waist down! ..
This was my introduction to The Damned, one Thursday night in May 1979, just turned 14 and absolutely amazed. Bought the single that very week, although only black vinyl and the Algy sleeve, had to wait several years for my red vinyl Captain sleeve edition! But that was it and my view of The Damned cemented with the release of Machine Gun Etiquette later in the year. Obviously I love the Brian James version of them but I always come back to the MGE LP era as it was the version of them that I first knew and loved and that's why I say P9C7 is only one of my favourites as that LP also contains Melody Lee, I just Can't be Happy Today, Looking at You and Smash it Up parts 1&2. Seriously it really doesn't get much better than that!
Not sure if I've posted this before, A mate and me used to go to the Horn of Plenty pub in St Albans to see the Street band as my mate worked with one of them ,they got a contract and started to record their album and their only hit "Toast" they played their biggest gig so far at the Music Machine in Camden , I could get and drive a 7.5 lorry and we used that for the gig and when we were setting up a dodgy looking bloke offered the band a load of cash for another band to play the headliner and use their PA , in the club there were quite a few well known music writers and blokes in suits waiting around so the Street band played and were met with polite interest from the suits but the next act were the Damned and from nowhere the place was full with punks who had been plied with booze from a pub nearby, outstanding memory of the gig was the Steet Bands Bass player holding on to his bass amp and speaker while the captain climbed onto it , that was the end of the band as Paul Young was the only one seriously wanting to continue in the music business and the rest is history
