GIG REVIEW: North East Calling, Northumbria University, Newcastle, Saturday 25 September 2021
‘Punk’s not dead, it just smells a bit funny.’ Not my words, but those of Steve Ignorant, ex-frontman of anarcho-punk legends Crass.
After a Covid-enforced year off, North East Calling returned to Newcastle with its usual varied line-up of bands old and new.
Fans from all over the North East and beyond flocked to Northumbria University for their very own ‘mini-Rebellion’, and it was great to be back.
The all-dayer is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones, and after the gig drought of the last 18 months, a welcome return to something approaching normal.
The line-up changed several times as the day was cancelled and rearranged as the country sought a way out of lockdown, and sadly Goldblade had to pull out in the week running up to the event.
But organisers JS Promotions still managed to pull together an 11-band line-up with something to suit the most discerning punk rocker’s tastes.
Opening the day at the unearthly hour of 12.30pm were local lads LoGoZ, from Ashington, who opened at the last gig I saw before our world was turned upside down in March 2020.
LoGoZ gigs can consist of anything from frontman Peesh doing a solo acoustic set, to the full four-piece smashing through their catchy pop-punk.
Here, happily, it was the latter, with Peesh joined for their NEC debut by his son Kieran on bass, Paul on guitar and vocals, and Carlos on drums.
Their half-hour set passed by in a flash, but they impressed early arrivals with a set of melodic pop-punk including crowd favourites like Long Time Dead and newer songs like Disgraceland and Dead End Year.
If any North East punk fans have never seen LoGoZ they really mustn’t be trying. If there was a prize for the region’s hardest-working band they’d certainly be in contention.
From one NEC first-timer to another, next up were Vomit from the north west town of Congleton.
I’d never seen them before, even though they have a handful of albums under their belt, most recently this year’s latest offering, Lucre & Vice.
Two guitars give their sound plenty of punch, and in frontman Lee they have a singer who commands the stage like it’s his own.
Their brand of ’77 punk slipped down nicely, with newer songs like Isolation and When’s It Gonna Start slotting in nicely alongside older songs like Dirty Toys and Piss Off Reg.
Next up were a band who’ve been treading the boards longer than some of the audience have been alive. Fire Exit, from Glasgow, were formed in 1977, and are still pounding out their singalong streetpunk today.
Led by singer Gerry Attrick, the four-piece blazed through a hugely enjoyable half hour, kicking off with one of their signature songs, We’re Gonna Drink.
Other highlights of their set included their warm tribute to the UK Subs frontman I Know A Guy Called Charlie Harper and Religion (Burn the Churches).
Things were about to step up a notch with one of the most controversial bands on the punk scene, Hung Like Hanratty.
Hailing from the Midlands, the five-piece make loud, nasty music whose lyrical content pulls no punches. They’re not everybody’s cup of tea, but I love them.
Their songwriter is frontman Al Satian, who aims his barbs at everything from disgraced paedophile TV presenter Jimmy Savile to people who go to the shops in their pyjamas (Clampit Town).
They released a new album, Dragged Up (reviewed here) last year, but never got the chance to tour it, so it was good to hear tracks like I Hate The World, Duggie The Druggie and Inland Revenue here.
Their set ended with one of their most controversial songs, Danny Is A Tranny, which, as Al explained, was written for them by a transexual about the sort of prejudices they face. “And if people don’t like it they can fuck off.” Quite.
How to follow that? Simple. Bring on Crashed Out, the four-piece from Jarrow who have been making rowdy streetpunk for more than 25 years, and are veterans of many a North East Calling.
They spent lockdown making a new album, which they recorded as soon as they were allowed in the same room again, and the new songs sound absolutely belting.
Against All Odds, Urban Zoo and Hypocrisy rock harder than they ever have before, and brought a great performance out of the lads.
Frontman Chris Wright, his brother Lee on guitar and bassist ‘Spin’ Brown have been together for years, and are a tight-knit unit, but they have a new drummer in Ricci McElwee, and he slotted in like he’s been there forever.
There were plenty of more familiar songs in the set too: Raise Ya Glasses, One Of The Boys, the magnificent Town That Died, and regular set closer The Jarrow Song. This was only the lads’ third gig back, and they were blazing.
The ante had well and truly been upped by the last two acts, and anyone who hadn’t seen them before might have wondered how The Bar Stool Preachers, the third band making their North East Calling bow, would cope.
They absolutely smashed it, and for me were one of the best bands of the day. I’ve followed them for a few years now, but the energy coming off stage was incredible.
With only 40 minutes in which to impress, the Brighton ska-punks stayed away from new material from their forthcoming third album and smashed out a nine-song, all-killer, no-filler set from records which people might already know.
Their perfectly-paced set began with One Fool Down and Trickledown, from first album Blatant Propaganda, but my highlights were 8.6 Days (All The Broken Hearts) from the follow-up Grazie Governo, and When This World Ends, from last year’s Soundtrack To Your Apocalypse 12in.
By the end they really were preaching to the converted, and if you’re looking for a band to headline events such as this as the old ones fade away, look no further.
Could the day get any better? You bet it could. Next up were a band who have long been one of my favourites, Bishop Auckland streetpunks Gimp Fist.
Jonny, Chris and Mike kept themselves busy during lockdown, writing songs for a new album, and they tried a trio of the out here – a brave move in a 40-minute set, but one they pulled off with aplomb.
After opening with a salvo of fan favourites, they played new songs Senses, Repeat Offender and Machines back-to-back in the middle of their set, and they augur well for the new record, whenever that’s released.
The crowd’s patience was rewarded with a closing run which included singalong anthems (Marching) On & On, Heart Full Of Pride and traditional closer Here I Stand. They’re a band who never let you down, and I can’t wait to hear the new LP.
Things were about to get heavy, with a complete change of pace. Conflict, the band known as The Ungovernable Force, were another North East Calling first-timer, and made their mark with a set of bludgeoning power.
Despite the fact they’ve been doing this for 40 years, I’d never seen them, and didn’t quite know what to expect. How about a wall of noise with frontman Colin Jerwood and co-vocalist Fifi from Dragster belting out anarcho-punk anthems over the top.
They kicked off with Carlo Giulani, their tribute to the Italian anti-globalization protester who was shot dead by the police in 2001, and followed with There’s No Power and Just Defy, all three tracks from their most recent album, 2003’s There’s No Power Without Control.
But it was the old stuff the fans wanted to hear, and they delivered in spades: Increase The Pressure, Serenade Is Dead, Tough Shit Mickey, Punk Innit, and The System Maintains. Conflict might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but those who watched this can’t fail to have been impressed.
From a band making their first NEC appearance to one who have played many times over the years, and always go down a storm – Anti-Nowhere League.
The hard-rocking biker punks from Tunbridge Wells are another band who divide opinion, mainly due to their near-the-knuckle and allegedly mysogonistic lyrics, but you’ll find a surprising number of women down the front, singing along to every word.
Their first album, 1982’s We Are…The League, is a stonewall punk classic, and tracks like Can’t Stand Rock ‘N’ Roll, Streets Of London and I Hate People still form the backbone of their set.
Frontman Animal – now seemingly fully recovered from the attack which left him unable to perform certain songs on their last appearance here – explained that they wanted to mix it up a bit, playing some different songs.
Thus we were treated to spirited renditions of Runaway (yes, a Del Shannon cover) and Uncle Charlie (the day’s second song extolling the virtues of the UK Subs frontman), as well as the inevitable So What, which they surprised us all by firing out just two songs in.
Closing their set with a rousing We Are The League, they showed once again that they’re an ideal band for an event like this. Job done.
One of the most eagerly-awaited appearances of the day was next, Steve Ignorant and his band performing a full set of Crass songs.
The influence of the Epping-based anarchists on the late 70s/early 80s punk scene (and indeed the way in which many people chose to live their lives) cannot be under-estimated, and this set was particularly anticipated after Covid caused the cancellation of the frontman’s own tour last year.
I was always a curious outsider, dipping in and out of the world of Crass, but they knocked this out of the park, with the four-piece band firing through a crowd-pleasing set.
With long-time collaborator Carol Hodge taking the female vocal parts, as well as handling keyboard duties, they dusted off classics like The Gasman Cometh, Do They Owe Us A Living?, Securicor, Big A, Little A and They’ve Got A Bomb.
Punk Is Dead gave Ignorant the chance to share his aforementioned thoughts on the scene today, but the highlight of the set was when Colin Jerwood joined the band for a rapturously received Banned From the Roxy.
Time then, for this year’s headliners. Some excellent bands had gone before, but despite running a little late, Sham 69 soon reminded us why they were top of the bill. Ignore imitations, this version of the band is the real deal.
Inimitable frontman Jimmy Pursey, flanked by Dave Parsons and Dave Tregunna from the classic line-up, with stick-twirling drummer Robin Guy pounding out a thunderous beat, smashed through a ‘greatest hits’ set at breakneck speed.
What Have We Got opened proceedings, and apart from a couple of newer songs, everything here was from the 1977-79 golden years. I Don’t Wanna, Ulster Boy, Borstal Breakout, That’s Life, Questions And Answers – they just kept coming.
The sinewy Pursey owned the stage, holding his mic out for the crowd to join in on the choruses, and they didn’t need much encouragement to bellow along with The Clash cover White Riot and If the Kids Are United.
My privileged position in the photopit means I can reveal time contraints sadly meant No Entry and Angels With Dirty Faces had to be cut from the setlist, but it was rounded off in style with Hersham Boys and Hurry Up Harry.
Pursey momentarily reduced the crowd to stunned silence, followed by warm applause when he told them Guy’s got cancer – “he’s had it three times, but still came here to play for you”.
It was a stark reminder that none of us know how long we’ve got, and to enjoy ourselves while we can. After the 18 months we’ve all endured, that message is more important now than ever.
While they’ve got plenty of detractors, tonight Sham 69 – playing just their second gig since January 2020 – were on fire. They sounded magnificent, as all the bands had, all day, and their set was a real high to end on.
It’s to the immense credit of the organisers of the Calling events that they can pull together line-ups as good as this after all the shit that’s gone down since March 2020. Long may they continue.
