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| Nov 28. Gal's solo album, 'Just The Filth' is released on download on Monday, 3rd December. The fifteen track collection is best described as "saucy", "vulgar", and "perfect for anyone who find Judge Dread too subtle." You can pre-order it now via iTunes: It'll be on sale from Monday at Amazon. A limited quantity will be available from the shop page on hand-numbered CDs, but Fit Bird tells us “There ain’t no plans for it to come out on vinyl at this stage.” Full track-listing will be unveiled on Monday.
Nov 27. The Madness House of Fun weekender was “storming” (a technical term) according to our woman with the crying baby in chalet 69. It went so well, that tickets for next year’s knobbly knees-up are already on sale here: This made us laugh. When Tim V Man’s sham-Sham came back into the country recently, the Customs geezer asked who the band were. “We’re Sham 69,” replied Tim proudly. The Customs bloke says, “Oh, yeah? Have you go Jimmy Pursey in the back of the van then?” Here’s the picture that stoked internet rumours that the Gonads were recording today. It’s actually the SkaNads - Gal, McMighty and Gentleman John – and some pals. The lads popped into Diablo Studios in Camden where they are demoing songs for the next SkaNads e.p. ‘White Tights’ to be released next year. Joining the tired and emotional trio were our mate Stief from the Noxious Toyz, Paul from top psychobilly band the Sin Kings, diamond producer Phil ‘Doyley’ Doyle, Jennie Bellestar, and Cherry from the Uppercuts. (Some say chunky Cherry was too fat to fit in the picture. Not true! It’s more that most cameras can’t cope with his permanent ginger glow.) The Uppercuts support Rancid and Cock Sparrer at the HMV Forum next month.
Nov 26. Out now from Oi! The Boat records, the debut ep from Dublin’s Hooligan. Called ‘No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs’, the handsome platter is described as “pure guitar driven anthemic punk, reminiscent of early Upstarts, with nods towards The Clash, The Ruts and even Thin Lizzy.” Random guff: The Street Dogs are “on a break” from 1st January, but insist “We’ll be back”... Shane MacGowan says some of his best-known songs were written under the direction of “ghosts”; these are believed to have been the spirits of Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and several pink elephants... our mates Buster Shuffle open for Chas & Dave at the Indigo2 in Greenwich on Dec 8th . Gertcha. Nov 25. Coming in August 2014: Alt-Fest, a radical new alternative music festival that will take place somewhere in South East England apparently and will feature five live music stages (Goth, Metal and Industrial acts), and a newcomers stage. Plus a circus big top, an alternative traders’ field, fairground rides and an artists’ village showcasing installations, tatts and sculptures. Hmm. It sounds like a Pranksters do on steroids. The Levellers have just recorded a video for ‘Mutiny’, a song which tells the story of the 1917 Étaples Mutiny by British troops in France during the First World War, and in particular that of its executed alleged ring-leader Corporal Jesse Robert Short. (Étaples was the largest-ever British army mutiny; it’s said a core of ANZAC troops kicked off the trouble, backed by troops from Scottish regiments). Nov 25. Howdy, mutants! Welcome back – briefly! We’re popping by so Gal can say a big thank you to Zani.co.uk for the Lifetime Achievement award they gave him for “service to music” over the weekend. Other gongs at the Friday night ceremony at London’s Alley Cat club went to the Sonic Jewels and Wideboy Generation. The Rising Star Award went to Billy Sullivan, guitarist, lead singer and songwriter with new young band The Spitfires. The night was hosted by Kenney Jones from The Who (not to mention the Small Faces and The Faces). Quick catch-up: joining Louise Distras at the 12 Bar on Friday week: TV Smith, Texas Terri, The Crows and Roots Awakening... Long-running Sunderland band Leatherface are said to have split up... NOFX are releasing a three-track Xmas single, on 15th January; the a-side is ‘Xmas Has Been X’ed’ (So has their timing – Ed). The new Mick Jagger biography, Jagger by Philip Norman, includes some side-splitting groupie stories. Like the time in Manhattan when an elderly grandmother showed him a picture of herself naked and spread-eagled on a bad. When Mick pulled a face, she grabbed his hair and pulled him to the ground until three New York cops could disentangle them. In Dallas, Stones tour manager Ron Schneider was approached by a young blonde who introduced herself as 'The Butter Queen'. She told him her handbag contained a pound and a half of butter which she wanted to spread all over Mick's nude body, and then lick off. Any other Stone would do, she said, but time was short, as she had to collect her son from school! (The Nosher did stuff like that too, but she used beef dripping). Nov 20. We're shutting down for a few days due to unexpected circumstances. We hope to be back, for a catch-up at least, by the weekend. Stand strong, brethren, and toodle-pip! Meanwhile here's a shot of the rather splendid 2-Tone veteran Rhoda Dakar with Gal at the 12 Bar yesterday, shortly after recording the pilot of her new, no-holds-barred pod-cast. More news when we have it... No sooner had we joked about Oi! This Is Street Punk Volume 3 than Pirates Press tell us it's coming - thirteen tracks from thirteen bands to be released on 13/3/2013 on 6" and 7" vinyl. Competition for inclusion is fierce, but who could resist our own extremely tasteful 'Dogging In Dartford'??? A busy weekend here at Nads HQ which saw visits from two leading lights of street-punk: Michael Geggus and Terence Hayes, PM. The reason for Mick's visit will become apparent by the end of the month. Tel's call was altogether more puzzling, however, as he came it seems only to present Gal's dog Charlie (aka Oi! The Beagle) with a rather fine silk scarf. Why treat a pooch to a scarf, asked a puzzled Fat Col? But then what does he know about the part played by an iconic tricolour canine in the arcane mysteries of 'Golden Dawn' Prankster prophecy? Word is the coming of a scarf-wearing Beagle officially heralds The Year Of The Gonads. Either that or the apocalypse, we've forgotten which. Quick clarification: that Jenny Woo/On The Job split 7inch is a collaboration between Contra and Randale. We'll end this item here before Fat Col manages to pervert the words 'On The Job', '7inch', 'Jenny' and 'split' into the kind of low humour that we regularly use a ten foot pole to keep out of this blog. We also understand that Randale are putting together a modern compilation to shift the emphasis of these babies away from US streetpunk and back to brickwall Oi. STOP PRESS. Very sad to report that Riders Of The Night drummer Army Jon Davies died yesterday from a brain haemorrhage. He was just 45. Our condolences to his family, friends and fellow Gooners. R.I.P. Jon. Nov 19. Here is Paul J. Hallam (the Stalin of Style) hard at work on our behalf in the Czech Republic, with Petr Ruzika, the country's leading punk promoter. PJH is attempting to line up our first ever gigs in Czech, just as other loyal Nads fans negotiate with promoters in Russia and Belarus. ("Zdravstvuy, Moskva!") Poland, Serbia, Bletchley, Kazakhstan, and all parts east are also on our hit list as tour dates for 2013: The Year of the Gonads are slowly being confirmed. Only one voice has been raised in objection; it belongs to Ms Wattsie Watts (Ravishing of this parish) who notes "It's bleedin' cold in Czech in February, why ain't you trying for Barbados?" Jeez, you can't please everybody.
Wanted for questioning, Charlton Boy Chris The Dust, the Del-Boy of SE13, whose supply of hooky DVDs come with one small draw-back: they don't actually work in a DVD player. "Have you tried playing them in your PS3/X-Box/toaster/microwave," he asks helpfully before the phone goes strangely dead. Starting next month, Oi! the Boat is bringing you a series of 7" compilations highlighting America's voices of Oi! here's the taster. Random-fandom: Mike Ness of Social Distortion is going to start writing their new album early next year. Make it a bit livelier mate... oh and Jenny Woo's split single with On The Job is out now on Contra. Nov 18. Oi-Oi News! There are a couple of tasty-looking Oi gigs in London town early next year. First up, Evil Conduct, The Guv’Nors, Runnin’ Riot, Citizen Keyne, the Uppercuts and Gimp Fist on Feb 23rd. Then Stomper 98, The Templars, Booze & Glory + Gimp Fist on 2nd March. Both shows are at the Dome, Boston Arms Tufnell Park... meanwhile Oi!Oi! The Shop in Camden is moving, but not far – their new place is in the basement of the Stables Market, just around the corner from where they are now. There’s been a small set-back with the Hooligan Classics ep, featuring us, Iron Fist, Stomper and the OFC. Apparently the artwork arrived late (yawn), and so the release date has been put back until January. But on the plus side, what better way to kick-start 2013 – The Year Of The Gonads!?! Marky Ramone is doing some shit on IMAGE (Interactive Meet & Greet Entertainment) next Friday which essentially gives fans the chance to purchase an item online and watch Marky sign it live, after which the item will be posted to ’em. You can ‘download the experience’ too, apparently. Or alternatively come and meet us in a pub, purchase an item ‘off-line’ out of Fat Col’s swag bag and watch us sign it, after which the item will be handed to you in exchange for a pint of beer (“Or a flash of your knockers” – Fat Col). Some headbanging nutters down in Wiltshire have declared 12th December to be the International Day of Heavy Metal. To celebrate they’ve got a gig on at Riffs in Swindon on the 7th headlined by The Sanity Days (featuring a couple of lunatics from Onslaught) and various other reprobates. Inspired by their cheek, we’re declaring May Day to be the International Day of Oi! Nov 17. Great, great review for Gal’s Time For Action book by Matteo Sedazzari over at Zani. Have a look here. According to the visionary Matteo, the book is ‘the closest the UK has ever produced to the Hunter S. Thompson classic ‘Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs’. He adds: “Unlike Thompson, Bushell was the same age, (maybe a year or so older), background and similar in dress sense... Bushell ‘got it’, and wanted the world to get it too.’ Gal passes on his thanks but asks us to point out that he no longer ‘gets it’ as often as he’d like. Anyone fancy joining us on a Rock Off EU bill? It’s to help spread the word about the cross-party People’s Pledge movement which wants an In-Out referendum on our continued membership of this unwanted, undemocratic, not-so-super super-state. Big demand out there for our old mates Status Quo’s one-off tour with original band members next March. Rick Parfitt tells us that tickets for the first Hammersmith Odeon gig sold out within fifteen minutes of going on sale yesterday. Francis and Rick are re-uniting with Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan for the dates. Quo manager, and pig fanatic, Simon Porter said, "This is a real moment in Quo’s chequered history. It comes after almost 30 years of acrimony, and 10 years of law suits and court battles. Just 2 years ago the thought of the four of them performing again was unthinkable. Now, 50 years on from when Francis and Alan first performed together as schoolboys, it is fitting that everything has come full circle for these unique one-off shows." Yeah, never mind that, Si, sort us out a backstage pass, there’s a love. By the way, next Friday (23rd) this is happening: Nov 16. A year ago, Pirates Press brought out a nifty eleven track album called Oi! This Is Streetpunk featuring eleven songs from eleven bands on 11inch vinyl, release date: 11/11/11. Now they’re had the bright idea of following it up with Oi! This Is Streetpunk! Volume 2 – a twelve band, twelve song, 12inch compilation to be released on 12/12/12. So what will they do next year?? Simple, argues Effete El: “There won’t be a ‘next year’ because the Mayans predict the world will end on 21st December 2012.” (A good excuse not to buy any Xmas presents until 22nd at the very earliest). Anyway, Vol 2 features tracks by Argy-Bargy, Booze & Glory, Broken Heroes, The Cliches, Flatfoot 56, Marching Orders, Rancid, Razorblade, Stomper 98, Stranglehold, Street Dogs and the Business. (The Rancid song is an unreleased ditty called ‘Fuck You’ which they’re now streaming). Obviously many would contest the claim that these bands represent “the best in current Oi!/Streetpunk from around the world,” but it’s good to see someone with a bit of muscle trying to keep the scene alive. Meanwhile, back with Cockney culture Chas Hodges plays the Circus Tavern tomorrow night with Jimmy Jones, favourite comedian of such luminaries as Iron Maiden and Quo. Record news: just out, the Jenny Woo/On The Job split 7inch from Contra... Tim Armstrong has been streaming songs under the name Tim Timebomb & Friends, they’re from his new solo album which is released digitally next month... Black Sabbath are releasing a re-mastered box-set of all nine of their albums, entitled 'The Vinyl Collection: 1970-1978', on December 12. It’ll come with posters and inserts, a hard-back book containing all of the band's 1970s tour programmes, plus a seven-inch vinyl of their debut single 'Evil Woman' and non-album B-side 'Wicked World'. Nov 15. Mick Mav’s mega-tatt is coming on well – beneath the frail human flesh is a mechanical arm of unfathomable robotic power, fuelled by the finest English ale. C’mon Jase – your turn next! Big love to Gal who goes for more tests tomorrow. He’s already had the ECG, and has had to provide blood, urine and stool samples (allowing Fat Col to claim “he just gave em his pants.”) Fit Bird says “it ain’t nothing to worry about” but she does report that Gal has embarked on “a frenzy” of book and song-writing. “Well,” she says. “It concentrates the mind, dunnit? A bit like Stacey Solomon in the first round of Oo Wants To Be A Millionaire” Indeed it does. One of the new tracks is a collaboration between Gal and Jenny Bellestar who are working on a brand new and “cushty” (a technical term) Ska ditty together - although Jen has insisted “no smut”. (A horrified Gal was heard moaning “That’s like telling Samson no hair.”) Our thoughts are also with Wattsie (gob problems; “She can’t shut it!” – Fat Col) and Nacho Jase who is crippled with lower back pain, believed to be either a ukulele-related injury or the result of carrying Pete Way’s solo album for the last three years. Nov 13. The exciting and eagerly awaited Louise Distras/Jenny Woo ep, ‘Stand Strong Together’ (out in February), will be dedicated to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Sophie, 20, and her boyfriend Robert Maltby were attacked by a teenage gang in Bacup Lancs, simply for being Goths. As a result of her severe head injuries the poor woman went into a coma, never regained consciousness, and sadly died thirteen days later. The campaign is working to prevent discrimination against sub-cults. You can find details here. Stand Strong Together live dates will be announced shortly. The Nosher tells us that she is writing a “tell-all” book about her demeaning experiences as a punk rock groupie. In an unrelated story, two former band members, one former US CIA chief and an agitated peer of the realm are reaching for their lawyers... The Beast told her “You must be fuckin’ stupid” to which Christine replied: “You leave Fat Col out of this.” Col meanwhile reckons he has written several songs about their relationship including ‘Love In A Skip’ and ‘Lung Full Of Tongue.’ Nice. Random bollo: Our pals P45 launch their debut album next February 2nd at the Old Regent Ballroom over in Stanford Le Hope, Essex, tickets £7... Celtic punk band The Mahones released their latest album Angels & Devils yesterday, featuring guest appearances from Jake Burns and Ken Casey... Michigan streetpunk combo Hex Bomb bring out their debut ep of the same name on Friday, featuring songs such as ‘United’ and ‘Midwest Punk’... reggae punks the Mad Caddies have just released a new version of their song ‘Distress’... Fit Bird is “very worried” about Gal’s health, telling us “ever since ’e’s been on medication, ’e’s gone all weird.” Apparently last night Gal dreamt he was dogging in Dartford “with that Wattsie bird” and ended up “’orizontal joggin’ with a Cheryl Baker lookalike on the back of a milk-float.” Now that is weird, there’s no room on a milk float. Hope ‘Cheryl’ pulled her skirt off Fuck’s Biz style first before making her mind up. A trailer for the upcoming punk rock zombie film, Bath Salt Zombie has pitched up on YouTube. The OTT low-budget horror film was co-written by Clint Weiler of Aggronautix and features music from various oiks including The Dwarves, The Meatmen and World War IX. It’s out on DVD in the US on 19th Feb. Although Chris Weeks reckons “It don’t sound as good as a movie based on ‘Attack Of The Zombie Skinheads’ would be.” Too right it doesn’t, that film script would be proper ‘Eddie Murphy’ (Spice Girl slang for ‘fucking Scary’) Chelsea Dom tells us that on Remembrance Sunday at Stamford Bridge the teams were led out by current members of the armed forces and Chelsea Pensioners in full regalia. He says: “I found it very moving, not to mention humbling”. Dom points out that there is a banner permanently on show at the Bridge, bearing the message ‘Chelsea Fans will never forget’. Nov 12. Thousands descended on the Mall yesterday to observe the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph, among them was rockabilly rebel Stief who writes: ‘It was an honour to find myself at The Cenotaph on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It's a profound feeling, standing alongside our current servicemen and women as we all, as one, pay tribute to the fallen of conflicts past and present, and also to thousands upon thousands of veterans as they proudly parade past the Cenotaph saluting their memory. Let us never forget their sacrifice. For our tomorrow they gave their today.’ STOP PRESS. A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform shot and killed a British soldier in Afghanistan today — the latest in a spate of insider attacks that are fracturing the trust between NATO and Afghan forces. The attack claimed the life of a soldier from The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who was shot at his base in the Nade-e Ali district of Helmand province.
Nov 11. This morning we salute all our brave troops overseas, and remember the fallen of many wars and campaigns. ‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.’ Sadly our attempts to play a gig for our serving forces have been hit by a number of hurdles. Officials (jobsworths!) complained about the songs (“You can’t sing ‘British Steel’!” Eh??) and the dancers (“Male band members must take their tops off too” Double ‘eh?’! Who the fudge wants to see that?!?) But we are still up for playing gigs for servicemen and women and open to any ideas. We are also working on that postponed BLESMA benefit for next year... And now, punk rock! The mysterious and nefarious Orgasm Guerrillas are finally working on their debut album. The Guerrillas first saw the light of day on 1980s Oi albums, with tracks like ‘Aloha’, ‘Sing Something Swindle’ and ‘Frankie Goes To Pot’. Their last outing was ‘Oi Along The Watchtower’ with The Postmen some years ago. They tell us their new material is “darker, richer and more serious, a sonic maelstrom of moods, magic and imagination” whatever the feck that means. Our own latest track ‘City Of Bones’ is far more straight-forward, borderline psycho-billy. It will appear on a split ep with the Noxious Toyz to be released next year. This will be the third in our new series of split releases as we enter our final year as a gigging band. More details to come. Nov 10. Our split ep with Russia’s Uchitelt Truda will be released in January, with a big old launch party knees-up in Belarus. Be a bit good if we could get out there for that wouldn’t it? Stranger things have happened... So we’re chatting to a Gonads fan last night who tells us that she loves the band, and quite digs our Charlton Boys badges, but can’t bring herself to buy one cos she’s a Gooner. “We’ll get some special ones made for you,” promises Fat Col (who naturally has yet to put his hand in his pocket to pay for any Nads merch). He flashes her a smile and asks: “How do you fancy ‘Gonads Up The Arse’?” We don’t think he meant it the way she took it but the slap round the chops was like something out of an old black and white film. Wallop! It’s just a pity she didn’t follow it through with a custard pie. (The Gonads oppose this kind of violence except in the case of Col who deserves it.) Hey New Yorkers: Electro-Punk geezers Maninblack are back at the Double Down Saloon on tonight (Making up for the Halloween cancellation). No support acts, no DJ, no hurricanes, just Maninblack, Maninblack, Maninblack… Free Maninblack pins! Free Maninblack mini CD singles – ‘Fighting In The Streets’ b/w/ ‘The NYC’. Plus Cheap Drinks! Free Admission, 21+ w/ ID. Nov 9. The Louise Distras/Jenny Woo ‘Stand Strong Together’ project will see the light as a split ep and live show next year. The ep will feature the duet and one song apiece from the two women. As well as uniting skins and punks, their mission will challenge all prejudice based on class, race, nationality and gender. So no Jim Davidson support slot then... Jenny and Louise will be taking the message on the road in Germany in February. We hope they have more luck than the Young Socialists of the sixties whose leaflet campaign ‘Mods and Rockers must unite to fight the Tories’ sadly fell on deaf ears. PS Louise plays London’s 12 Bar on December 7th Random guff: brilliant Booze and Glory have replaced the Last Resort as headliners at tomorrow night’s big Glasgow Oi! gig... the Dropkick Murphys have posted the video for their song ‘Rose Tattoo’, their first single since 2011’s ‘Going Out In Style’. The new album follows on 8th Jan. Breaking News: Garry Johnson has had his first operation, and goes back in for the second later this month. Gal tells us he “almost died” prior to the op. Certainly the corrupt Social Services in Essex would be happier if he had done, but mercifully Oi’s greatest bard lives on to fight another day. Let justice prevail. What has happened to the Beast you ask? Two words: gypsy porn. Hold that image! We say no more. Blackmail Corner. It pains us to show you this, but here are the Cockney Rejects from a feature in Flexipop magazine published more than three decades ago. The piece, headlined The Gay Blade, shows the kings of East End street-punk poncing abhart like refugees from an Adam & The Ants video. Sticks is depicted as the transvestite Duchess Dufort (do what?) and it gets worse over the page... As the Rejects' loyal friends and fans we can prevent publication of the rest of this costume drama. All it will cost them is a couple of support slots on the next tour, plus Newcastle brown ale rider. Nov 8. A great night in Stratford, for the East End Babylon screening last night. Old friends in the auditorium included Lee Drury, Freddie Brown, the lovely Skarettes Christine and Lorraine Ska-Mama, and Stief who sneaked in for free by claiming to be director Richard England! Sadly the plant, who Gal had briefed to ask Jeff whether seventies music was better than sixties music, bottled out (a reference to an incident at an earlier talk which ended in mild fisticuffs). The Stratford Q&A was chattier and less controversial than Greenwich, when movie-goers (including Louise Distras, Steve Whale, Wattsie and Jenniera Blade) were taken aback by Eugene Butcher's somewhat aggressive question to Gal: "Why didn't you make the Rejects bigger stars?" Yes, Gal - and that goes double for us! Why haven't you made the Gonads stars? Sort it out mate or perish in the soon-come Nacho Jase-led band take-over... Here's what Steve Whale got up to the next day: working on a film with the truly great Noddy Holder. Steve reports that the former Slade singer was "everything I'd dreamed he'd be." Of course! Nod is GOD! End of. Back in stock! The Gonads latest album: 'Greater Hits, Volume Two: The Mutt's Nuts' - twenty tracks of filth and fury, said by experts to be the greatest album since 'Greater Hits, Volume One: Plums'. Includes: Go Mad with the Gonads, Rob A Bank, England In Our Blood, Oi Nutter!, Sandra Bigg (Really Big), Lotto, Oily Rag, Beki Bondage Please, She Can't Whip Me, Karl Marx Supported Millwall, These Are Our Streets, Got Any Wrigleys John?, Getting Pissed, Conquest, The Joys of Oi!, Lager Top Blues, Skinhead Girl, I Don't Wanna, Haemorrhoid, Stop That Drumming. "The perfect Christmas gift for the discerning hooligan!" Available from the shop page. Due in 2013: 'Greater Hits Volume Three: The Complete Cobblers'... Other Xmas goodies in the pipeline include the South Coast Steve perpetual pescetarian drumming action figure, the Nacho Jase ukulele vodka and cheese dispenser (patent pending), the Wattsie Watts innuendo dispenser, and the Mick Maverick hair restorative Mr Sheen polish spray. Here's another great shot of Gal on stage with the Last Resort belting through a bone-shaking version of 'Chaos' at the London Oi-weekender. All go, innit? Nov 7. Booze & Glory are looking for a new bassist, as their current one is leaving shortly due to family commitments. The band has loads of gigs booked for next year all over Western Europe and are likely to play the 2013 TNT festival in Hartford, CT. Mark Boozer tells us “We need a fully committed, decent bass player into classic oi! stuff, ready to travel abroad once or twice a month... ” (That’s committed as in ‘keen’, not in the South Coast Steve sense of ‘should be in an asylum’). Random guff: the next official Gonads release is our split ep with the Uprisers, which comes out in January... Geoffrey Oi!Cott play the 12 Bar in London on Saturday 24th November... Psy and Tia, two of the alleged dogs who have sampled Stief’s mattress tell us they really enjoyed licking the balls and getting stuck into the bone. Kinky bitches. Nov 6. The reviews are coming in for East End Babylon. Awarding the film three stars out of five, the London Evening Standard’s Derek Malcolm (Eton and Oxford) talks about ‘David Edwards’s documentary’ (Who he? – Ed), and concludes: ‘The comments on their careers are much funnier than those of Status Quo in their recent film and, though the music lacks much art, you warm to their East-End charm.’ Euan Ferguson in Time Out gives the flick a more generous four stars, dubbing the Rejects: ‘One of the most provocative bands ever to trash a London stage, with the ensuing storm of boozing, blagging, brawling and loud guitars unflinchingly recalled... few bands have roared ‘fuck you’ as convincingly as the Rejects.’ Inevitably the Guardian is sniffy, saying simply that ‘The film amply describes the unfocused rage that can fester in deprived communities’ and claiming that Oi! was punk’s ‘extremist end’ (cos all that anarchy stuff was so middle of the road, right?). One of their own readers retorts: ‘Oi! was punk's working class wing. No art students, no slumming graduates and no sons of diplomats pretending to be proles, which I would guess is why it terrified the plastic middle class crowd.’ Here here. It’s bad news week. Bad news #1. Garry Johnson has suffered a heart attack and is awaiting bypass surgery. Bad news #2 Millwall Roi was involved in a traffic accident after the gig on Friday and suffered a broken cheek bone. This means the Resort will have to pull out of next weekend’s big Glasgow gig. Louise Distras recorded with Jenny Woo on Sunday. The result is ‘Stand Strong Together’, a stirring call for street cult unity. We’ll let you know when it’s up and/or out. Nov 5. Quick reminder for London readers, the Rejects film East End Babylon is shown tomorrow (6th), 8pm at Greenwich Odeon Picturehouse, and on Wednesday, also at 8pm, at Stratford Picturehouse. Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with Mick, Jeff, Gal and hopefully visionary director Richard England. RIP Suicide Silence frontman Mitch Lucker. Mitch died on Thursday morning after a motorcycle collision in California the night before. He was 28. Mitch lost control of his bike and crashed into a Huntington Beach lamp post. He died the next morning at 6:17 a.m. No-one else was hurt. The Gonads will go “strictly global” next year. We’re already in talks to set up shows in the USA, western and eastern Europe; as well as various UK festivals, and we are definitely interested in Canada, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and anywhere British forces need some aural bombardment too. The sky is the limit chaps, so If you’re serious about the Nads playing your town email waistrel@the-gonads.co.uk. We’re going out in a blaze of glory. And we can confirm there are more Gonads albums and split singles in the pipeline. Our pal Stief is anxious to explain that there was nothing untoward about him having a mattress in the back of his van. “It’s for the dogs,” he tells us. Make of that what you will. Oi! The Book will “definitely” be published in 2013. The big problem is pictures; the more pix and paraphernalia we can find from back in the day the better the book will look, so please spread the word. It’s the morning after a weekend of hardcore ‘Savile-burning’, instigated by the Jolly Pranksters. As reported earlier, every English region turned their traditional Guy Fawkes bonfire parties into a celebration of the death of the revolting BBC paedophile DJ Jimmy Savile by burning hand-made Savile ‘guys’ stuffed with stolen copies of the Radio Times. The PM, who attended the East Sussex event at a private farm near Burwash Weald, tells us that the mood was “good-natured” despite an incident when young hot-heads hurled their own ‘Gary Glitter’ onto the flames. Old Eric was master of ceremony, and arrived on a stallion whose feet were strapped into cherry red Doctor Martens. “Why is that horse wearing cherry red boots?” asked the PM. “Because his black ones are being mended,” explained Eric. Of course! In the spirit of sensible drinking, all brethren restricted their alcohol consumption to a moderate 26 units per hour. Cheers! Please note: the fact that we reported the SFI on this blog does not mean that we support them. As Gal says: “We like the idea of a Street Firm International, but the Trotsky thing is so last century.” Too right, and by the way, remember Kronstadt. Breaking scandal: South Coast Steve insists that the No-Nads will go ahead with their gig supporting the UK Subs in Bournemouth later this month – even though Lord Waistrel has expressly forbidden it. Fat Col reckons Steve is trying to get himself sacked so he doesn’t have to buy us Christmas drinks in the hope of being reinstated in January. However, Effete El, who is smarter, believes Nacho Jase is using South Coast as a “stalking horse” to challenge Waistrel’s authority. “Jase is the one to watch,” whispers an insider. “He wants to depose Waistrel and take over the whole Nads operation. He has a vision of a whole series of gigs across the entire south Dorset area, spanning from Poole to Christchurch, taking in pubs, busking areas in underpasses, disused urinals and cider festivals. Some might even pay.” It seems an unlikely claim, for surely anyone considering seriously taking on his Lordship would have first considered the large number of people he has already ruthlessly sacked... not to mention the even larger number of would-be Gonads frothing at the mouth for a chance to join this band for our final year of oi-oi rock’n’roll glory. We bring the Beast out of semi-retirement to warn: “If the so-called ‘No-Nads’ attempt to pass themselves off as the Gonads then we will be forced to take legal action to squash them. This is NOT an official side project and it will not be tolerated.” Did we mention Jim Lindberg has rejoined Pennywise? No? Well he has. Nov 4. Breaking news: the Cockney Rejects will tour the USA with Youth Brigade next February. Confirmed dates are: 14: The Valley, Reno, Nevada. 15 Uptown, Oakland, CA. 16. Observatory, Santa Ana, CA. 17. Brick By Brick, San Diego, CA. 18. El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. 20. Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO. 21. Reggies, Chicago, Illinois. 22. NY Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 23 Middle East, Boston, Mass. 24, Otto Bar, Baltimore, Maryland. Nov 3. A great crack (craic?) at the packed-out Boston Arms last night, where Stief put in a frankly frightening turn as the Franken-Skin and La Belle Wattsie Watts put all thoughts of her oral problems and aching cavities to one side to help see us through our first gig since Harlow. It was a lively turn-out, mostly Poles and Millwall, with a smattering of Germans, Micky Fitz, Paul Mummery from psychobilly band the Sin Kings and the wonderful Jenny Woo. Small joys included Gal punishing beer thieves with “the curse of the Golden Goblet” – a pint of piss set as a trap while we were on stage, which worked a treat. And, in a feat of magic worthy of Paul Daniels, the Franken-Skin being smuggled on stage under a sheet behind Wattsie and Allyson (Did they like it? Not a lot! Honestly, pearls before swine... ). Headliners The Last Resort were the bollocks of course, Booze & Glory sparkled, Horrorshow impressed and we all loved Noise Agents. Gal joined Millwall Roi for a caustic version of Chaos to close the proceedings. Our own set was: Punk Rock Till I Die, Tucker’s Ruckers, Alconaut, Oi Mate, Poland Boys (opportunists, us???), SE7 Dole Day, Oily Rag, Buy Me a Drink You Bastards (first ever live performance), Skinhead Girl, Jobs Not Jails, FrankenSkin, I Lost My Love To A UK Sub. Encore: Grant Mitchell. Big thanks to to flag-girl Allyson, to Stief who chauffeured Gal and Wattsie to the venue, and of course to the Booze & Glory Boys for organising the weekend. We’ll be back soon with details of the next great adventure. TTFN.
By the way, Stief’s deluxe transit van arrived with a mattress in the back! The Boston Arms barmaid doesn’t know how close she got to turning down the chance to sample it... naturally we have now appointed Stief official Nads tour manager. Things Shona will always regret saying in front of us #97: “I hate it when sex drags on too long, three minutes is enough.” (If that includes foreplay count me in! – Fat Col) Random gig irritations: drunks who try and sit on the merch table – on top of the merch! Drunks who try and talk to you on stage in the middle of a set, especially those who request “that song you did in the 80s with the girls” and tunelessly hum it; a) we did a lot of songs with girls b) Gal is “mutton” c) we can’t hear what you’re humming, the band are playing and d) we’re in the middle of a set FFS, this ain’t no time for conversation (unless it includes your phone number – Fat Col) The Cockney Rejects are lining up a show in Moscow for early 2013, we’re aiming to return to Bletchley... Meanwhile next Friday in North London this happens - the Bored Teenagers Launch Party; Jimmy Edwards from Masterswitch/Time UK will kick off the show with four acoustic numbers – his first live performance in 26 years... Random stuffs: the next Gonads gig will feature ‘The Joys Of Oi’ played live for the first time in thirty years, and very possibly FrankenSkin’s coffin... new Swinging Utters single ‘The Librarians Are Hiding Something’ is out now on Fat Wreck Chords... Maninblack make up for their storm-cursed NYC Halloween show with a FREE performance at the Double Down Saloon (14 Ave. A, NYC 10009) next Saturday (Nov 10th). Doors at 7pm, Maninblack begin their set at around 8pm. The lads will be making a point of giving out freebie Maninblack pins and mini CDs singles to anyone and everyone and as always the DDS features infamously cheap drinks. It's a Saturday night, New Yorkers! Have it! The SFI have raised a few eyebrows. Some curse the fact that they’re Trots, others suspect that they’re an off-shoot of the old and inactive League Of Labour Skins. The SFI themselves say only that they will launch properly next year, with a website that will make everything clear. Nov 1st. Okay, so Kiria is now psychobilly she-devil Missy LePink! Whether she still enjoys live sex on stage is anyone’s guess, but Missy and her Viva le Pink boys play their first headline show at Camden’s Black Heart on 23rd Nov, with debut ep ‘London Crawlin’’ to follow next Feb... Doors at 7.30pm, £4 OTD.
We’ve been contacted by an organisation called the SFI, England, who describe themselves as “a forward-looking working class Marxist grouping for skins, punks and Casuals.” The SFI say that they formed to “add political coherence to the scene” and are particularly hostile to “German ‘grey area’ obsessives” who they describe as “Stalinist buffoons.” The Trotskyite group, whose initials are believed to stand for Street Firm International, say their goal is to “return socialism to the working class and vice versa.” They deny any links to the old Red Action (“sectarian supporters of terrorism”) or the SWP (“muddle-headed middle class revisionists”); and assure us that they have no truck with “fashionable clerical fascism.” (Mad mullahs etc). The SFI are apparently building “the Street International” and are looking for bands to align themselves with their tendency globally. They remind us that Slade played a Socialist Labour League gig at the Empire Pool, Wembley (which is true – March 1972, a massive head-shot of Gerry Healy was beamed up behind the band as they {aptly} played ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’). Given the disastrous track records of youth cults, pop and politics, you may feel that this development is the last thing the scene needs, or alternatively that it all adds to rock’s rich tapestry. Either way we can’t be involved as we’re 100% anarcho-syndicalist these days and Fat Col is voting UKIP. Try Maninblack, chaps. *FISHBONE in London, this Sunday...
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