Sex Pistols with Frank Carter / The Stranglers / The Undertones / Buzzcocks / The Skids / The Rezillos

So here we are. Gathered here together on the summer solstice in front of this massive monolith to pay homage and to worship an ancient God. Named Punk. Rock. 

As with modern day recreations of ancient things, there is some authenticity but you’re getting something that’s not quite the real thing. Maybe that’s a good thing? All the bands on show today performed to a level of polish and professionalism that they 100% didn’t have originally.

It makes for a good show, but at the price of the DIY punk ethos.  On arriving at Bellahouston I thought we’d turned up to Q in the Park. The lines seemed to go on forever. It didn’t help that a whole day’s worth of rain landed on us before we got anywhere near the gates. 

Though we did manage to get through the doors in time to see the excellent Rezillos.  Thankfully the rain stopped as the music started. The Rezillos looked genuinely happy and excited to be there, belting out their set with some gusto. ’Can’t Stand my Baby’, ‘Teenbeat’ and ‘Somebody’s Going To Get Their hHead Kicked In Tonight’ sounded epic on the massive sound system. 

As with a few of the bands on this bill, the most well known song appeared earlier in the set than you’d expect. ’Top Of The Pops’ marked roughly the halfway point and they actually finished with their version of The Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’. 

I saw the Rezillos at the Wickerman Festival years ago. They were enjoyable then but they were more enjoyable here. It is a shame that many probably missed them due to being stuck in that big queue. Doors were at 2pm and the Rezillos came on at 2:50. The time keeping at this gig was perfect.  Apart from The Stranglers song there was no hanging around here. Maybe doors should have been at 1 or were all of those folk just late to the party?  

The arena was arranged with a section at the front separated by a barrier. I think you had to pay extra for a ticket to be in this area but when we arrived the security were handing out wristbands that would allow entry. Had they just not sold enough tickets and didn’t want an empty area at the front? Did we take something that we weren’t entitled to?  Either way we were able to watch from nearer the stage for every band starting with the Skids.  

I was looking forward to seeing them as I hadn’t seen them before. I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed. Richard Jobson was absolutely gieing it laldy. Jumping around the stage like he was 17 again. Between each song he told a little story giving a bit of context and a few laughs. Admitting that he was talking so much between songs to get his breath back. 

Some of his stories were of their early days when they played matinee gigs and gigs in schools. This was to get around the fact that their audience and half the band wasn’t old enough to gain entry to venues. Ironically their first school gig happened to be in the nearby Bellahouston Academy. ”Why did we call it Skids for Kids?” Others were misadventures on Top of the Pops and a touching tribute to former band mate and pal Stuart Adamson. 

“I was heartbroken when he told me he was leaving the band. But he went onto bigger and much better things”  I wanted to hear the obvious songs. I still maintain that ‘Into The Valley’ has a greatest intro riff and I enjoyed ”Working For The Yankee Dollar’ and Jobson’s self confessed “worst Punk song of all time” ‘TV Stars’. ”I know because I wrote it”. Yet it got the majority of the crowd singing along. 

They finished with a mention of “the one band missing from the line up”, The Damned? No. The Clash. Playing a cover of ‘Complete Control’. They were possibly my band of the day. I loved them, their tunes and the commitment to the performance.  

Next up were the Buzzcocks and to be honest. I didn’t love them. I never got the chance to see them when Pete Shelley was still around but I was surrounded by folks who had. And they weren’t impressed with how the band is now. But those are long time fans being picky. For me I didn’t love them because they played stuff I don’t really know. ’What Do I Get’, ‘Promises’ and the obvious ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ were the only songs I knew well. Which were the first, second and last of their set and I enjoyed them. The parts in between lost my attention. Which was a shame. 

The Undertones were up next and were the second band that I’ve seen before. They were really good fun and endearing. Engaging the crowd in banter and getting everyone singing along. ’Teenage Kicks’, ‘Here Comes The Summer’ and ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ still sound pristine. At this point Paul McLoone said something about having more time that they expected and we got some bonus songs. Did they forget that all their songs are 2 minutes long? They finished with ‘My Perfect Cousin’. 

I really enjoyed the Undertones. Just tons of fun.  

Last spring I saw The Stranglers at the Usher Hall on their 50th anniversary tour. They were their own support band on that tour playing a couple of different sets. One with more of the hits and one with lesser known songs. I was a bit bored at that gig and didn’t think they were that good on that particular night.  Here they were much better.  All hits with no filler. Starting off with ‘Hanging Around’ we got ‘Get A Grip, ‘Tank’, ‘5 Minutes’, ‘Peaches’, ‘White Stallion’, ‘Golden Brown’, ‘Always The Sun’ and an updated ‘No More Heroes’ with Brian Wilson’s name added.

My personal highlight was ‘Nice N Sleazy’ because I don’t think they played it last time I saw them.  The Stranglers were probably the best band musically of the day but they weren’t the most animated or entertaining to watch.

On paper this gig looked like it would be such a long day. Yet here we are at the headliner. The day flew in. The Sex Pistols of Matlock, Cook and Jones took to the stage and fired right into ‘Holidays In The Sun’. After a short pause Frank Carter joined them and buzzed up and down the stage doing his best to fill the big shoes that have been left out for him.  

And that’s the problem right there. It felt like he was playing a role rather than just being Frank Carter. Which is enough because he’s a really good frontman. He got a circle pit going, went crowd surfing through one song and did his best to snarl his way through the vocals. And for the most part it worked. The Pistols were perfect. Every song was spot on.  Apart from ‘My Way’ which was better than the original due the fact that Carter can actually sing.  

The back of the stage was a massive screen which was showed visuals to go with each song. Animations of the record cover for ‘God Save The Queen’, little archive video clips in other songs and a montage that had all four of the members together as if they’d been around together for years. Every song had something different. They were all very well done but it made me feel like I was at Sex Pistols theme park ride with a very expensive yet very good tribute band playing. ‘Bodies’, ‘Pretty Vacant’, ‘God Save The Queen’ and ‘EMI’ were all enjoyable but I kind of didn’t enjoy ‘Anarchy In The UK’. There’s an edge missing to it all. It’s the once most dangerous band in Britain with a safety harness.

I am nitpicking here. The whole day was a great celebration of the music and of the times. There was a really lovely atmosphere and the whole show was super slick in production and organisation. It was an expensive day.  The food and drink wasn’t cheap. At least it was half decent. The event poster has “Ever Feel Like You’ve Been Cheated?” written in the top corner. Well, on this occasion, no. Actually. I feel like they delivered on this.  It was an enjoyable day and we left feeling slightly sunburnt yet satisfied.