| Ed Tudor Pole Nuneaton, Queens Hall 9th March 2013 So some months back a poster goes up in town for Stiff Little Fingers and Ed Tudor Pole to play the Queens Hall, Nuneaton on 9th March 2013. I thought to myself...”I will have a bit of that!” So a week or so later the gig tickets go on sale. Lucky I was in town and got myself one, because soon enough they were all sold out. Now the Queens Hall ain't a big venue, but it holds about 300 standing and seems like most the old school Nuneaton Punk and Skinheads were all thinking on the same lines as myself. SLF in town result! This is the first ever time the boys have graced this dirty old part of the City (ha! ha!) So gig night soon came around and I was pretty flushed with some ‘folding’ for once, and headed out early in the day to try and catch the bands for some before gig pictures. And lucky enough, Ed Tudor Pole had just popped in to ask us “where the bands were setting up?” As he's played here before, it must be his old age that he forgets things (ha! ha!). But I found him to be such a nice bloke, he even promised to put a guy on his guest list he's only ever spoken to for 10 seconds, and true to his word he did! So hats off to Ed, nice one mate! While talking to Ed I missed SLF going in a side door, so I head into town and meet up with a load of mates for a few beers and get a bit ‘ratted’ so to speak. But its all good fun. Soon I'm heading back to the venue and its still early but the doors are open and the punters pile in like sardines. It got so packed it was taking ten minutes to go for a piss, so a quick slash and I push and bump everybody as I make my way to the front, just in time for Ed to come on stage. Now we have all seen the craziness and antics of Ed in the Crystal Maze TV show, and he's just as mad as a bunch of jumping frogs on stage. Soon he's whipping this crowd up and they’re loving it, top showman if there ever is one. The songs played included ‘Three Bells In A Row’ and ‘Throwing My Baby Out With The Bath Water’ which go down a storm and as for the big guns of ‘Who Killed Bambi’ and 'Swords Of A Thousand Men’. I could imagine they would of heard the crowd singing along miles away. I’m just blown away by him myself and I've never really been a fan of vocals and an acoustic guitar, but tonight I'm a convert. Well soon enough Stiff Little Fingers were on stage and there is no room at all to swing a dead cat, and the whole rooms going wild. Gods knows what the punters in the Crew bar below thought of the noise, because this is one wild show! They have stage barriers up and stage crew in place for tonight which is a plus, because anyone who could go mental is already off the plot. Between songs singer Jake Burns talks us through what the songs are about, as they power through such a great set. I was hoping for them to play ‘Mister Fire Coal Man’ but it wasn't to be tonight, but they dealt some knock out blows with tracks like, ‘Strummerville’, ‘Doesn't Make It All Right’, ‘Alternative Ulster’, ‘Suspect Device’, ‘Gotta Gettaway’, ‘Straw Dogs’,’ Nobody's Hero’, and a Ruts cover. To be honest I think if your a fan of Stiff Little Fingers like I am, your always wanting material off ‘Inflammable Material’. Its just Stiff Little Fingers at their best, and that's what we got tonight! I’m still buzzing long after the show and now the sardine factor is over, I head off into the cold March night with snow starting to fall. No help to my cold whatsoever, but still would not change a single thing! I grab a couple of shots of Ali and Jake before they leave, and if the band had the same feelings as myself, I’m sure they will be back to play Nuneaton some time soon. Glad I brought a couple of SLF T-Shirts too because I'm freezing me bits off as I stagger my way Home WORDS AND PHOTOS - Sid (Nuneaton) 10th March 2013 |
