Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

O2 Academy Birmingham 19th March 2011

A Saturday night triple bill, JJ, Wilko and Mike Marlin. Who the fucks Mike Marlin? Well we're about to find out here he is. It's Birmingham and its 2011 in case you didn't know. It is! Isn't it? Well I thought it was. Wolves were playing (and beating) the Villa at Villa Park and The Stranglers were playing The Top Rank (really the new Academy) so it could be 1979 - plus ça change, plus c'est pareil as JJ would say. I decided to come to Brum early and take in Polar Bear Records and Swordfish Records and The Diskery before the gig - everything seemed pretty normal. Until I made my way to The Diskery that is, a record shop that has been where it where it is now since God's dog was a pup. It's at the top end of Bromsgrove Street a part of Birmingham the City planners haven't visited since just after World War II. The street was momentarily deserted as we made our way up from China Town when suddenly about 20 yards away from round the corner past the Wellington pub came a young Rasta walking at break neck speed. He was looking straight ahead, straight into my eyes. As he came closer I could see he was decidedly nonplussed. What was his problem? Then I clocked. About ten yards behind him, again moving briskly were seven or eight SKINS. Yeah Skinheads! Braces, DM's, Fred Perry shirts, Harrington Jackets, the works. Shit. My palms started to sweat. I felt the blood starting to pump round my head. I was shouting at the NF as they marched round Wolverhampton Ring Road in '77. I was being pegged by the f**ckin Coventry Skins outside Highfield Road in '79. Was this really happening. Was this really 2011. There was something definitely not right. Was it them or was it me. Was I having a Life on Mars moment? Or had I gone blah blah boo boo?

They all bustled passed. My lad (who I hadn't realised had been with me all day) turned to me and said "Are you alright Dad? You've gone rather pale. Are we going in The Diskery or not?" We went in the Diskery.

Of course there has to be a punch line to this tale and the joke was as usual was on me. I can't be certain why the Rasta guy was in such a rush, just late for something I guess. But the SKINHEADS weren't in pursuit they were on their way to the Birmingham Gay Skinheads Nite at BOLTZ gay club. Yep gay Skinheads, whatever next? Morrissey & McCartney's 100% meat pie? The Otis Ferry & Ludlow Hunt animal sanctuary? A Manchester United supporters club based in Manchester? Gay Skinheads, I'm obviously totally out of touch. The upshot of this tale is not good. My hard man stories of the Sham 69 gigs, The 2 Tone tour, THE COVENTRY SKINHEADS and the NF are now greeted with adolescent sniggering from my kids. Thanks GAY SKINS! Thanks.

Welcomed with clenched fists, nice touch.

Oh right Mike Marlin has finished and I never got to say anything. Ho hum never mind. Wilko's up next.

Wilko Johnson

Now as I said when I went to see The Abyssinians the other night the words legend and genius are banded about far too freely nowadays. But there is no doubt that the words legend and genius unequivocally apply when speaking about Norman Watt-Roy. He is a legend in his own lunch break a bass genius bar none. And WILKO's pretty good too. But let's talk about Norman for a moment. He's got a credit on The Clash's "Sandinista!" album. He supposedly played on "The Magnificent Seven" but what else did he play on? "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe"? Who knows? Well bloody find out some one and then let me know!

Anyway it was great to see Wilko back on a big stage. I've seen Wilko in some pretty strange places in recent times the strangest being at the GREEN MAN FESTIVAL in CLUN (where?) - But strange or not you always get one thing with WILKO JOHNSON and that's WILKO JOHNSON - intense, full throttle, in your face, blink and you've missed him, barmy as a box of frogs - a baldpated rhythm and blues God. And with Norman Watt-Roy making those improbable impossible bleedin' bass shapes and then suddenly pulling a harmonic out from a blur of fingers they are unstoppable. It was a brief but perfectly formed set. "Barbed Wire Blues" early on and then three Dr Feelgood classics in the set "Back in the Night", "Roxette" and "She Does it Right". They went down very nicely thank you with the Birmingham crowd. See clip.

Now it's bloody difficult for me to say anything at all about The Stranglers, I've seen them play live far too many times, if you add in JJB solo and Hugh solo and The Purple Helmets it could be close to three figures, mostly between 1978 and 1986. And just to bring this tally into context I only saw The Stranglers 3 times between 1990 and 2004. But this is not why it's difficult for me to talk about The Stranglers it's the bleeding Stranglers fans that make it hard for me to talk about The Stranglers. A three figure gig tally to these die hard Stranglers fans is small beer indeed. And you can't leave anything to memory with these buggers (I'm whispering here because there's quite a gathering of them around me now). You have to make sure you've got every detail exactly right, cos if they tune into this channel and I've got the slightest fact wrong they let you have it and no mistake - right in the NECK!

So there'll be no talk in this Fanzine about the "All Quiet on the Eastern Front" album. And no talk of Hugh Cornwell's "Svengali" solo album - oh no, it's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth - probably.

"I Feel Like I Wog" began a set of the usual favourites: "Golden Brown", "Five Minutes", "Something Better Change" "Always the Sun" etc. But there was also a new track thrown in to the mix and some things I'd not heard for a while. "Two Sunspots" which didn't seem to work when The Stranglers were employing a lighter touch on the "La Folie" tour but with an extra bit of bollo tonight it most certainly did; "Tramp" again off "La Folie" - the single that never was - but let's not go there we've not got time. Have they played "Tramp" since Hugh left? I can't remember hearing it. "Never to Look Back" got an airing from "10", as did "Dead Loss Angeles" from "The Raven" two basses and all. You see it could have been the Top Rank and 1979 after all. "Threatened" always does it for me though - the menace, the horror, and Jet Black putting in the drum fills that are so sadly missing on "Black & White".

"Go Buddy Go" and "No More Heroes" were the pick of the encores - job done. Off went The Stranglers faithful out into the Birmingham night to bay at the (super) full moon. Good people these Stranglers fans they know what they like and they don't go round with sun glasses on the top of their heads, and they don't talk about work or whether the SDI hatchback is better than the TDI Coupe. And also if it says on the tickets doors open at 6.00 O'clock you better open the doors at six prompt. They hadn't opened the doors at Birmingham by 10 past. There was nearly a riot when the O2 staff said they wouldn't open them until half past. The Stranglers fans got organised. They made Tunisia and Egypt look like a kid's party. The doors were opened at 6.12pm. Stranglers fans - we salute you!

The Stranglers have a Convention at The Camden Centre London on 19th November. GO HERE FOR DETAILS.


done & dusted ES