PUNK 4 PUSSY'S PRESENT
RED FLAG 77
MAD CHIHUAHUAS
POA
BRIDGE ST SOCIAL CLUB WALSALL SAT 3OTH MAY 1998
ENTRANCE £2.50 OR £1.50 WITH A TIN OF WHISKERS OR CATOMEAT
Little did we know after tonight this was gonna the the last PUNK 4 PUSSY'S night at this, easily
their best venue to date! But it was and couldn't be avoided as it was out of the managers hands
who loved it, and the Pussy's paws! StII ain't that the story with all good Punk venues, they seem
to close and open but the best ones always seem to get a short life span.
Anyway onto tonighs showcase with Splatt from Tamworth providing a good variety of Punk sounds
on the decks, which I must say adds a more Punk club type of atmosphere to the place, a bit like a
90's Roxv or Vortex if vou get my drift?
As always P.O.A. kick off proceedings and having seen 'em fuck knows how many times before?...
it's hard to add anything new to their youthful dual guitar/80's inspired Punk! What I can say is
they are a hard gigging band playing gigs all over UK at the moment. So if they are round your
neck of the woods check em out!
I was looking forward to seeing MAD CHIHUAHUAS having just received their 'Punk as Fuck' demo
off their bassplayer; which inspired drunken debauchery and a couldn't give a fuck attitude that is
so sadly lacking from this straight laced Punk scene. Having just met Jon (the bassist) by the bar before they played, with a pint in his hand
and a broad northern accent. I knew it wasn't just gonna be hammed up paper cuttings for the punk publicty....they were and are the real thing!!!
They stumble into their set like a gang of hooligans who have just picked up their instruments for the flrst time and get off to a shaky drunken
start. Jon told me earlier they wanted to play first so they can get on with their drinking before it ruins any hope of them performing to any degree
of success, but it just wasn't happening. They made me laugh, and the Walsall crowd just seemed bemused by their antrics. I reckon the Walsall
Punks who ain't that 'right on' give every group whoever they are a fair chance. Which is rare, cos I could see these playing to a more
inflexible 'punk' crowd if there is one?, and I'm led to believe there are, and the CHIHUAHUAS would probably come un-stuck sad to say. Anyway
back to the gig after the first four songs they finally got it together enough to eventually spit out such Harrogate tourist attractions as 'Toilet
Trader' and the spot on begging punks tune 'Kebab Song' they didn't gel much dancing cos most of the punks couldn't grasp drunk reprobates
from Harrogate turning up and playing ha! But it amused me immensely!
RED RAG 77 bought with em on the road their own record stall, which was selling every time I went past. Rikki the tall streaky, blonde
spikey haired singer was decked out in a grey bondage top. Rikki's a sound punk, they've just got together their own record label Menace
Records so where the fuck is that long awaited LP then Rick? RED FLAG 77 soon put some bodies on the floor via some solid crowdbaiting and
hard work on the part of Rikki Flag, and the tight musicianship these Ippo upstarts seem to ooze. Maybe it's cos Ipswich has such a high
standard as far as the other 'snobby in-crowd' pop-punkster musicians are concemed? Coz it seems in Ipswich if your gonna get noticed you've
gotta be able to play your instruments, else you get classed as a joke. Which RED FLAG 77 ain't!!!...make no mistake about that! Highlights of
the set for me were 'Nervous System' and off the imminent LP 'Utopia' with it's Strummer like chorus. But the best reaction of the night came
along with pogoing punks all over the place including Vile Ending's (Torcha Shed) soon come wife...Isabel Ringer. She fell over the monitors at
Rikki's brothel creepered size ten feet in a heap! Even Stupid Bastard (Police Bastard) and Mrs Bastard was amongst the rough and tumble, as
this minute and a half pogo frenzy of 'LooK Mum I'm On The Radio' erupted! They took Walsall by storm and had the crowd singing
along........
Peter Don't Care - (The Suffragette #10 February 1999).
RED FLAG 77
MAD CHIHUAHUAS
POA
BRIDGE ST SOCIAL CLUB WALSALL SAT 3OTH MAY 1998
ENTRANCE £2.50 OR £1.50 WITH A TIN OF WHISKERS OR CATOMEAT
Little did we know after tonight this was gonna the the last PUNK 4 PUSSY'S night at this, easily
their best venue to date! But it was and couldn't be avoided as it was out of the managers hands
who loved it, and the Pussy's paws! StII ain't that the story with all good Punk venues, they seem
to close and open but the best ones always seem to get a short life span.
Anyway onto tonighs showcase with Splatt from Tamworth providing a good variety of Punk sounds
on the decks, which I must say adds a more Punk club type of atmosphere to the place, a bit like a
90's Roxv or Vortex if vou get my drift?
As always P.O.A. kick off proceedings and having seen 'em fuck knows how many times before?...
it's hard to add anything new to their youthful dual guitar/80's inspired Punk! What I can say is
they are a hard gigging band playing gigs all over UK at the moment. So if they are round your
neck of the woods check em out!
I was looking forward to seeing MAD CHIHUAHUAS having just received their 'Punk as Fuck' demo
off their bassplayer; which inspired drunken debauchery and a couldn't give a fuck attitude that is
so sadly lacking from this straight laced Punk scene. Having just met Jon (the bassist) by the bar before they played, with a pint in his hand
and a broad northern accent. I knew it wasn't just gonna be hammed up paper cuttings for the punk publicty....they were and are the real thing!!!
They stumble into their set like a gang of hooligans who have just picked up their instruments for the flrst time and get off to a shaky drunken
start. Jon told me earlier they wanted to play first so they can get on with their drinking before it ruins any hope of them performing to any degree
of success, but it just wasn't happening. They made me laugh, and the Walsall crowd just seemed bemused by their antrics. I reckon the Walsall
Punks who ain't that 'right on' give every group whoever they are a fair chance. Which is rare, cos I could see these playing to a more
inflexible 'punk' crowd if there is one?, and I'm led to believe there are, and the CHIHUAHUAS would probably come un-stuck sad to say. Anyway
back to the gig after the first four songs they finally got it together enough to eventually spit out such Harrogate tourist attractions as 'Toilet
Trader' and the spot on begging punks tune 'Kebab Song' they didn't gel much dancing cos most of the punks couldn't grasp drunk reprobates
from Harrogate turning up and playing ha! But it amused me immensely!
RED RAG 77 bought with em on the road their own record stall, which was selling every time I went past. Rikki the tall streaky, blonde
spikey haired singer was decked out in a grey bondage top. Rikki's a sound punk, they've just got together their own record label Menace
Records so where the fuck is that long awaited LP then Rick? RED FLAG 77 soon put some bodies on the floor via some solid crowdbaiting and
hard work on the part of Rikki Flag, and the tight musicianship these Ippo upstarts seem to ooze. Maybe it's cos Ipswich has such a high
standard as far as the other 'snobby in-crowd' pop-punkster musicians are concemed? Coz it seems in Ipswich if your gonna get noticed you've
gotta be able to play your instruments, else you get classed as a joke. Which RED FLAG 77 ain't!!!...make no mistake about that! Highlights of
the set for me were 'Nervous System' and off the imminent LP 'Utopia' with it's Strummer like chorus. But the best reaction of the night came
along with pogoing punks all over the place including Vile Ending's (Torcha Shed) soon come wife...Isabel Ringer. She fell over the monitors at
Rikki's brothel creepered size ten feet in a heap! Even Stupid Bastard (Police Bastard) and Mrs Bastard was amongst the rough and tumble, as
this minute and a half pogo frenzy of 'LooK Mum I'm On The Radio' erupted! They took Walsall by storm and had the crowd singing
along........
Peter Don't Care - (The Suffragette #10 February 1999).
| You can also try out lead singers Rikki's impressive PUNK Distro KNOW YOUR PRODUCT ....tell him I sent ya! KNOW YOUR PRODUCT FEATURING A RANGE OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING: VEGETARIAN SHOES - NEW BONDAGE GEAR - CAPS - PLUS ALL THE USUAL PUNK ROCK BARGAINS C.D.s - VINYL - BADGES - PATCHES ALL AVAILABLE NOW FROM Know your product P.O. Box 15 Ipswich IP2 8RY England |
RED FLAG 77
have come a long way since I first interviewed 'em back in
The Suffragette #1 1996. In those days they were still
doing a lotta punk covers in their set and were a sort of
warm up band for the Ippo locals and anyone else vaguely
into a bit of '77. But gradually through lots of gigs and the
urge to perform and write their own songs they started
producing some great numbers of their own. And these
started to creep out at an alarming rate (see the reviews
below). With Ramones Christmas Cabaret, Menace
Record label and loadsa other stuff, they have recently
been signed to Beer City Records with USA distribution of
their best release to date...'Short Cut To A Better World'
album re-released last year. They have a 45 out now on
some French label and tour constantly all over Europe.
They recently had to cancel a US tour due to red tape (tee
hee). However i suspect that it's only a matter of time
before at least some pogoing down the front to 'Look Mom
I'm On The Radio' is witnessed across the ocean.
For more info on the band check out their myspace at
www.myspace.com/redflag77 or visit
www.redflag77.co.uk.
have come a long way since I first interviewed 'em back in
The Suffragette #1 1996. In those days they were still
doing a lotta punk covers in their set and were a sort of
warm up band for the Ippo locals and anyone else vaguely
into a bit of '77. But gradually through lots of gigs and the
urge to perform and write their own songs they started
producing some great numbers of their own. And these
started to creep out at an alarming rate (see the reviews
below). With Ramones Christmas Cabaret, Menace
Record label and loadsa other stuff, they have recently
been signed to Beer City Records with USA distribution of
their best release to date...'Short Cut To A Better World'
album re-released last year. They have a 45 out now on
some French label and tour constantly all over Europe.
They recently had to cancel a US tour due to red tape (tee
hee). However i suspect that it's only a matter of time
before at least some pogoing down the front to 'Look Mom
I'm On The Radio' is witnessed across the ocean.
For more info on the band check out their myspace at
www.myspace.com/redflag77 or visit
www.redflag77.co.uk.
| P.M.T - RED FLAG 77 'Demolition Derby EP - (Weird 009) 7" 1997. 2 of the UK.s PUNK trailblazers, from the right hand side of England feature here. Side 1 kicks off with Ipswich Towns RED FLAG 77 - "over land & sea & water". The arrival of 'Martians', complete with close encounter signal, tells us it's a tongue in cheek up-beat number showing RF77 as a tight little unit. But it's 'Nervous system' which is my favorite with an addictive one note solo ringing all through the track. Norwich City's P.M.T. start side 2 with 'Ex Punk' a fast paced slagging with added sax, attacking old Punx who've gone straight, "tattooed hands the eternal proof,of the ignorance of your youth" [scary]. Finishing off with "anti-fash" which screams X-RAY SPEX, especially the sax solo's, but thats where the comparison ends. Spu Terribles vocals are anger personified.I can Just imagine her spitting it out at some nasty in the pub!!! So 2 Punk bands who I think you'll be hearing a lot more of in 1997. Both sides are WORTH A LISTEN! £2.20 from Weird records, 61 London Rd, Balderton, Newark, NOTTS ng243ag, UK. RED FLAG 77 'I Love gingers'... Demos and sneak previews of 'Lipstick/How low' This 10 song compilation tape contains 2 tracks already reviewed above and 2 covers, THE DRONES 'Lookalikes ' and RAPED's 'Moving target', both sound great and prove RF77's musical prowess. Next up is their worst song of the bunch 'Beatin Around The Bush' a shaggy, rock number , throwaway. That aside they possess a first class production on these set of demo's...buy that man a drink. Which leads us into 'Drunk again', another great song up there with 'Nervous system'. Rikki's 'gravelly hill' vocals suit the RED FLAG. 'Paranoia' flys past at speed. "Turning Grey' reminds me of New wave circa '79 with Rikki trying to sing, don't bother son, you just keep doin what you do best. Another good 'un next with 'Where R u now Epitaph' which has got a bit of an EATER influence, specially on the backing vocals. A good slagging song. The 2 new tracks - 'Lipstick' an anti-experimentation song for transvestites [oh sorry animals]! I liked the lyric "Frankenstein was a philostine, but him and my dad were one of a kind". Finally 'How long' is another melodic punk outing and a good effort, but I still think 'Nervous system' & 'Drunk again' take some beating....."RRRResidue" WORTH A LISTEN. 3 Peppercorn way, Ipswich, Suffolk, 1P2 8RT, UK. |
| SCRATCH 'N' SNIFF #2. RED FLAG 77 mentor and 'Gravelly Hill" vocalist Rikardo Red Flag wreaks his Punk Rock thoughts on an unasuming world. You'd think he had better things to do with his time like his day-job singing in RF77 and recording their debut LP. He's also just become a dad and a well known Punk celebrity popping up all over the country bullshitting his way into various groups riders...Fuckin' hell hectic Punk lifestyle or what? From the off with it's plastic dog turd on the cover I knew it was gonna be a humourous,scruffy Punk affair. I liked his early Punk recollections in the local church hall a lot. Some of the groups interviewed were dissappointing with their answers which aint nothing new! However a small but interesting interview with England's Psycho-Pierce who plays the PISTOLS before each match to Psyche himself up! Rikki is a dab hand at Punk crosswords, I tried it myself once for 2 minutes but give it neck and fucked off down the pub. There's a big SPECIAL DUTIES int. But I didn't quite understand the El ducko's splatter cartoon strip? And was surprised to see Extreme Noise Terror are a gang of "transister radios'. But a well packed, chaotic read and Rikki also does a nice little Distro aswell.Thanx Rik for getting me RAPED! [***] 3, Peppercorn Way Ipswich, Suffolk, 1PZ 8RT.U.K. 2 Fanzine Reviews from The Suffragette #3 punk fanzine 1997. |
| Red Flag 77 lead singer Rikki Flag had enopugh energy in the 90's to even pen his own fanzine called Scratch 'N' Sniff which was a humourous cut 'n' paste punk rock affair. I managed to read a couple issues, not sure how long it run for but here's a couple of reviews from the time..... |
| STOP PRESS: RED FLAG 77 are still gigging and recording they have released possibly their best album to date with the impressive 'Rotten On The Inside' in 2009 which is well worth you checking out. Review up soon. |