PUNK ROCKER

AGE!
Don't time fly when your having fun! It's been 6 months since my last confession and these are my sins. I've actually been working on this sites long lost 'Images Of Punk' gallery's for the past 3 months. Didn't realise it's been offline for over 13 years now, wow that's shocking! So I finally got my act together, there are 14 gallery's now up once more, for your viewing pleasure, entertainment or just down right disappointment. It's all welcome. All the 70's and most of the 80's era of punk are finished for now, so half way there. Should be adding a little more frequently from now on. I'll post them as each new gallery is finished. They feature some old faves and some new inclusions, from a time when punk really was fresh, new and exciting. I learned not to rush stuff this time round, but inevitably got side tracked so often during my research. But hey that's part of the fun and odyssey of delving into the punk archives, your investigations uncover a lot of facts and figures all the time.
I also got my gaming addiction under control
for the time being at least, or till something
new comes along to tempt me. So i'm
striking while the irons hot! I even went to a
gig earlier this month shock horror! It was
Generation Sex. Which I wasn't looking
forward to after seeing some damning
footage from Glastonbury and immediately
regretted buying the fucking £50 ticket in
advance grrr. But thought fuck it, it will
definitely be the last time I hear Steve Jones
power chords live. So reluctantly went on
this Monday night in unfashionable W-ton. Lo
and behold it was a fucking sell-out (or felt like
it ) considering they were queuing round the
block to get in. Someone said they were
selling tickets at half price somewhere?
I wish I knew, they could've had mine for a score. These were the reports that filtered through while I languished in the Billy Wright (pre-gig) with Jimmy Cox telling me his 'coke' routine lol.
Generation Sex actually sounded a lot better in a venue, the acoustics in this place is still pretty good after the refurb. However despite all that, Billy Idol is a terrible singer these days. No matter how much you paint it, the cunt can't sing which shocked me. As I admired his crooning ability's from afar during his career, but not tonight. Even his Rebel Yell on his own numbers seemed but a whimper, it was like his voice box had hit a dirt track in Death Valley. Apparently its the after effects from Covid which is a shame. He also seemed a little confused and didn't seem to know what he was doing half the time, looking to Steve Jones for reassurance. Now Steve Jones is one guy you don't go to for reassurance, especially after wanking off his mates for 50p when he was a kid. Billy Idol's crowd banter and stage presence was worryingly non existent, we got the clenched fist, the snarl, but that massive facelift makes his profile look like a cheese board. Considering he spent most of his professional life doing this routine in front of arena's and was forever the wild youth of the big stage in years gone by, it now seems sadly age has finally started to creep in with all of them. Tony James and Paul Cook seemed on form and were pretty much holding it all together, but they were a lot slower, That poxy 5 minute 'Black Leather' solo by Jonesey (67) went on for way too long. Even in his 'God Save The Queen' t-shirt it just wasn't enough for me to endure in this packed solid to the doors no room to move venue. The £6 quid a pint was never gonna tempt me to stay any longer than I had to so I left early. I'd seen enough to satisfy my curiosity. It's a rip off venue considering they spent millions on it, and always has been. No young punks in attendance, everyone looks so old (including myself) these days. After considering Iggy blew Generation Sex off the stage in London recently, it tells you a lot. Coz Iggy (76) himself the real godfather of punk (although Penny Rimbaud (80) might disagree) is starting to look very antiquated as he drags his right leg round the stage like some gothic Detroit lab assistant, which restricts his movement, but he can still sing good. So if you wanna experience the Sex Pistols or Generation X don't go see these, check out the records and you'll never ever go wrong!
I hear Charlie Harper's UK Subs are doing his last tour and about time too. If you ain't seen the Subs by now, where have you been? If Charlie Harper (79), had the financial backing of the Stones with an oxygen tent, back stage chemist and life support on standby, he'd be still touring for another decade! Age has become a major issue in punk from a spectacle point of view. Some of these geezers don't look good any more and time is really creeping up on the original punk guard. The Damned seem to be safe, sterile show biz tarts charging £75 quid a ticket fer fux sake. Debbie Harry has hit 78, but just can't hit those high notes no more, and Siouxsie (65) bears the same affliction. Glen Matlock (66) wouldn't employ a local tradesman coz he voted for Brexit...cunt! Between him and the by now excruciating Mr Rotten (67), whose plodding out yet another tepid PIL tour and an abysmal record to boot, we really have come to the sell by date for that particular era of punk.
I was contemplating going to Rebellion this year, but can't get the time off work. Maybe that's a small mercy considering the line-up, but at least some of the bands there are a little younger, (but not by that much) and the majority of the clientele will be around my age or thereabouts, which is even more depressing. I really wish if your gonna do punk after say 40, do us all a favour and do art or use film or write or if its still doable even record new music if its still sounds good in the studio. But fer fux sake don't keep putting crud out any more. And please, please, please give the gigs a miss. Especially if it's a wrinkled fucking side show like a lot of the recent gigs have been. I got the impression I was missing somert? Coz all the reviews of Generation Sex were banging on how good it was! When in fact it really wasn't. I'd go as far to say, if you grabbed some random fan out the audience they'd have sung the songs just as good. I'm just telling you the truth as I seen it, and having seen 'em both in their heyday there just ain't no comparison. I really respect Billy Idol he's one of the few out the old wave who seems genuinely down to earth despite his huge success but just can't see him carrying on much longer. I feel sorry for people who never witnessed these kind of bands when they were really good, because they would've been blown away if they thought tonight's gig was good. It shows you how time and nostalgia can alter your perception. I remember when the old Teds got laughed at back in the 70's. Who'd have thought the kids who were laughing then would become the same joke themselves 40 years later. What goes around comes around I spose. Even Elvis (42) bowed out before he got near the age of any of these fuckers who are still shuffling around looking and sounding like cunts. One funny moment from the gig was when my mate Kev's brother Brian jumped the barrier and run up to Steve Jones after the gig to get a 'Bollocks' album signed and Jonesy shouted "Don't shoot me!!!" tee hee.
As Poly Styrene once said "age she's so afraid, age she's not the rage". The older punk bands seem to think they are still "the rage" and won't or can't take no for an answer. Just look at the Buzzcocks (Steve Diggles 68) and Jean Jaques Burnel is (71) fer instance. But lets be fair, the people who are around them, managers, agents etc are probably telling them, they are still in demand. Which begs the question are they all doing it for the money or the rage? Coz not one of the cunts have released any decent music fer nearly 40 years. So on both counts it's slightly suspect. But from their viewpoint, if they stop gigging they'd probably be banged up, lose the plot or top themselves. Such is the fickle nature of showbiz entertainment, fan adoration or the lure of the crowds applause. You feel sorry for them in the end, coz what else can some of them do? But after all this ageist abuse they can take some comfort in the fact that their classic music they created, wrote and performed in their heyday is their true epitaph and that will always be timeless, ageless and limitless!
Nostalgically Yours
Peter Don't Care (July 2023)