Chuck Berry Reviews Punk - Jet Lag - 1980
What’s this guy so angry about anyway? Guitar work and progression is like mine. Good backbeat. Can’t understand most of the vocals. If you’re going to be mad at least let the people know what you’re mad about.
The Clash - Complete Control
Sounds like the first one. The rhythm and chording work well together. Did this guy have a sore throat when he sang the vocals?
The Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker
A good little jump number. These guys remind me of myself when I first started, I only knew three chords too.
The Romantics - What I Like About You
Finally something you can dance to. Sounds a lot like the sixties with some of my riffs thrown in for good measure. You say this is new? I’ve heard this stuff plenty of times. I can’t understand the big fuss.
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
A funky little number, that’s for sure. I like the bass a lot. Good mixture and a real good flow. The singer sounds like he has a bad case of stage fright.
Wire - I Am the Fly and Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
So this is the so-called new stuff. It’s nothing I ain’t heard before. It sounds like an old blues jam that BB and Muddy would carry on backstage at the old amphitheatre in Chicago. The instruments may be different but the experiment’s the same.
Audio Special #8
Stuart Maconie's assesses the impact of the Sex Pistols' gig in Manchester in June 1976.
No longer available
The Damned - Guttersnipe 1979
Friday
2nd February 1979 - Wolverhampton Polytechnic
Wolves Poly is now such an elitist venue (students only)
that I’m surprised that The Damned got in. But they did and so did I, after
some problems. It’s uniformed guards everywhere but the line up sounds alright;
Capital Letters, Radio Stars and The Damned.
It’s the Annual Ball and plenty is going on. Three discos
(one punk!). Beacon Radio Road Show, a must to avoid. They have a clown, sword
swallower and a strongman, much too good to miss.
Capital Letters are great, if you’ve missed them on Peel,
don’t next time. They gave away really nice badges with ‘Legalise Ganja’ on
them, don’t understand that but they are nice badges.
Next Radio Stars. I’ve said what I think of this shower of
shite. I listen to almost one number. They are really boring and I think that
at ninty four they could retire.
I went into the bar. Vanian, Scabies and Sensible were
wondering around. I approached Vanian, they are really freat guys, not into
star tripping or anything like that. Having seen them three times in the last
couple of months, I won’t waste space telling you how good they are again. I
was there with them when they heard of the death of Sid. Rat didn’t want to
play but the others persuaded him. Vanian opened the set with, ‘Sid’s dead, the
set is for Sid’. They ripped into Pretty Vacant. I have never been convinced of
their musical ability. Rat seems to spend as much time pissing about as
drumming. Not tonight. Straight through a great set of favourite numbers, no
fooling, no spitting, no dropping trousers, just vintage punk.
After the set finished a guy attempted to slit his wrists
and Rat went and spoke to him and convinced him not to. Then went down into the
dressing room and just broke down, they seem to have given a lot to Sid and now
he’s dead.
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