The Afterword

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Vice Squad – time for a reappraisal?

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While the rejuvenated Cockney Rejects are out there playing anywhere that will have them, Vice Squad have taken a different path. I don’t think they’ve performed live since lockdown – deliberately so – taking the route of recording at home (Rebecca & Paul’s place, VS vocal/guitar & guitar) and creating social media videos from home. Very effectively, it seems to me – and good luck to them.

There’s little or no money in touring at the club level, and a lot of risk, so the Squad seem to be a good example of a heritage act (I’m sure they’d hate that phrase) operating a firmly DIY operation to get their music out to fans from their living room/kitchen without schlepping around the country playing to 40 people a night or whatever it may be.

They have a new ‘best of’ just out – titled ‘Punk Rockers’ (lest there be any confusion), own label, own distribution – featuring newly recorded versions of classics. I salute them for ignoring the remains of the trad record industry and doing it themselves.

They have a knack for decent tunes, adding aspects of pop to their metally punk. Speaking of which, on this number, ‘Punk » Continue Reading.

999 – time for a reappraisal?

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I made a field trip into the world of 70s punk last night for a triple bill of Petesy Burns’ Hoakers (actually, a new power trio performing entirely new and fabulous repertoire), Henry Cluney’s XSLF (i.e. the guitar player from SLF’s first three albums plus some other guys – including a blistering drummer from the Defects on this occasion) with a guest appearance from a man from the Defects singing ‘Alternative Ulster’, and then the legendary 999.

It was good fun. Perhaps we need to help 999 get to that 50th anniversary (four years away) but seeing their shows and buying their t-shirts? One tip, though – have the right money at the merchandise stand. 😀 Nick Cash seemed to go into some fugue state when the matter of three quid change for a T shirt purchase came up. But maybe that’s why they call him ‘Nick Cash’… We got there in the end. 🙂

The Outcasts: Time for a reappraisal?

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Here’s a fun new video by Ulster punk legends the Outcasts, for the lead track on a new EP. I have no idea where it’s available, but I’d buy one if I had… 🙂

Amazingly, although they’ve been ‘back’ and active for the past few years (after about 20 years of inactivity), frontman Greg Cowan was adamant that he didn’t want to record anything new – that fans only wanted to hear the classics. They’ve played all over Europe and Japan and the Blackpool Rebellion thing every year with more or less the same well-honed 45-minute set for ages, but a year or so back Martin Cowan and Petesy Burns convinced Greg to give it a go and record a new EP – three new songs and a cover of an old Rudi classic (another Ulster punk band). It’s finally sneaked out.

Their Christmas 2018 (yes, the one before last) Belfast concert at the Black Box debuted all four ‘new’ tracks, and I understand they’ve featured one or two at shows over the past year.

It’s often the case that acts flood the market with stuff, or outstay their welcome. The UK Subs recently put out TWO 15CD box sets » Continue Reading.

999 – time for a reappraisal?

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In a successful bid to procrastinate doing something more useful, I thought I’d check out what 999 were up to. Here they are a couple of weeks ago, apparently felling alright with the crew.

Anybody seen them in action recently? Or back in the day? I noticed there was a 4CD box set of their post-heyday albums on Cherry Red out recently…

Keef Hartley Band – time for a reappraisal?

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I’d say so… I’ve just digitised this fabulous 1970 concert for a pal, the mysterious ‘Johnny Kidd Fan Club’, featuring the Hartley band (including British jazz legends Henry Lowther on violin/trumpet, Harry Beckett on trumpet and Lyn Dobson on sax/flute) plus an additional 7-piece horn section for the final two numbers. Enjoy. Did any of our number see Hartley back in the day? Was he legendary?