The Sex Pistols Experience return to High Wycombe on Saturday 27th April 2019 with a gig on the outside ‘festival’ stage at The Antelope pub just off the High Street. Support comes from London punk/rock ‘n’ rollers, Rebel Station.
Sex Pistols Experience with Rebel Station support Poster from gig at The Antelope Saturday 27th April 2019
This is the opening night of The Antelope’s summer run of gigs and I would recommend you check out the links below for the latest information regarding other forthcoming gigs at this long running venue of live music in High Wycombe.
The second annual Animals Rock charity event at The Dashwood Arms, Piddington – raising funds for Animal SOS Sri Lanka – takes place from the evening of Friday 3rd May 2019, through to the evening of Sunday 5th May 2019.
The Damned returned to High Wycombe for the first time since their infamous appearance at The Nag’s Head in October 1976, with a headlining slot at the Town Hall on Wednesday 18th April 1979 – Support were local Chesham band The Beez plus up and coming West London punk lads, The Ruts. Auntie Pus, a one man target for verbal abuse from the crowd, was also on the bill for well attended Ron Watts promoted gig. However, the gig ended in chaotic scenes as punters were ushered out of the venue by the local police following The Damned’s refusal to leave after they claimed that former Manager Watts had massaged the band’s cut of the takings.
Damned, Ruts, Beez – High Wycombe Town Hall advert from Bucks Free Press Midweek – enhanced for wycombegigs.co.uk
The Beez, who had first performed live in 1978, were playing their biggest venue to date in their short history after promoter Ron Watts had been impressed with the local following they bought along to a support slot at The Nag’s Head on 8th March 1979.
Their debut single ‘Easy/’The Vagrant’ – on their own Edible records label – was set for release around the time of this gig and they went down well enough with the expectant crowd that evening to be called back for an encore.
The Beez – outside Quest studios – promo photos complete with autographs from my own collection
The Beez confirmed set-list from my own records was:
Without You
The Vagrant
Back Street Love
Do The Suicide
Girls
Hangover
Apathy
Something Wicked
Easy
Get Ahead With The Feds
All You Need’s A Brain
Questions and Answers (Encore)
The Ruts’ appearance in High Wycombe came just as they were gaining a wider audience following the release of their ‘In a Rut’ single in January 1979 on the People Unite label and the constant championing of this track by John Peel on his BBC radio show.
The Ruts had appeared at the Town Hall back in October 1977 as support to Wayne County and ATV but barely drew a cheer from the handful of punters who had arrived in time to see the opening act. Less than 18 months later it was totally different story. A John Peel session from January 1979 featuring ‘Savage Circle’, Babylon’s Burning’, ‘Dope for Guns’, Blackman’s Pinch’ and ‘Criminal Mind’, would make much of The Ruts set that night already familiar to the crowd. Damned drummer, Rat Scabies’ guested on drums during Blackman’s Pinch (later renamed to Jah Wars).
The Ruts line-up that night at High Wycombe Town Hall was Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John “Segs” Jennings (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums)
Early Ruts picture from the rutsdc website – note the home made t-shirt with what would become their iconic logo
The Ruts confirmed set-list from my own records was:
Savage Circle
I Ain’t Sophisticated
H Eyes
Lobotomy
Suss
You’re Just A..
Something That I Said
Blackman’s Pinch
Criminal Mind
Dope For Guns
In A Rut
You’re Out of Order
Babylon’s Burning
Society
The Ruts were called back for an encore and played ‘Human Punk’ – a crowd participation number where lead singer Malcolm Owen passed the microphone along the front of the stage. Most of the songs that night would feature on their debut album, ‘The Crack’ – released in September 1979.
Warming-up the audience up prior to The Damned was Auntie Pus (real name Julian Isaacs). He had been on the punk scene since 1977, playing a one-man old style rock ‘n’ roll guitar act. Essentially between each ‘song’ he would lead the chant of ‘off the stage with Auntie Pus’ – if the crowd didn’t join-in he would continue. This carried on until Ron Watts took the stage and asked the audience, “OK, let’s get rid of this c**t”.
His short ‘set’ included ‘Halfway to Venezuela’ and ‘Blues Suede Shoes’. Some of his recorded material would eventually be released in 1980 with Chris Millar (Rat Scabies) credited on drums.
They had released a series of singles and two albums before playing a ‘farewell’ gig at The Rainbow, London in April 1978. Leader singer Dave Vanian went on to perform with Doctors of Madness, while Brian James, Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies formed their own bands, Tanz Der Youth, King and White Cats, respectively. The latter saw Scabies continue his taunts of the High Wycombe crowd at a Town Hall gig in July 1978.
But The Damned would not die, reforming originally as The Doomed in late 1978 and then returning under the original name. The new look band would be minus guitarist Brian James – Captain Sensible taking over the lead guitar role and ‘Algy’ Ward on bass. 20 year old Ward had previously been in The Saints. They coupled with founding members, Dave Vanian (vocals) and Rat Scabies (drums).
The Damned – Chiswick promo pic 1979 Algy Ward, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian and Rat Scabies
Their return to the punk scene had gained them an ever increasing following thanks to their boisterous live shows but they were still finding their feet and new musical direction by the time of the Town Hall show in April 1979. It would be fair to say that many of the audience were there out if curiosity value, rather than their recorded out of the time.
It was therefore with a sense of anti-climax that headliners, The Damned, eventually took to the stage to the sound of the traditional version of ‘God Save The Queen’, – not The Sex Pistols version.
The Damned confirmed set-list from my own records was:
Jet Boy, Jet Girl
Teenage Dream
Stretcher Case Baby
Ballroom Blitz
Born to Kill
Burglar
Melody Lee
Problem Child
Lookin at You
Love Song
So Messed Up
New Rose
Neat, Neat, Neat
The set was played through with barely a break to breath. ‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl’ saw Captain Sensible take vocals on a song to the tune of Plastic Bertrand’s 1978 hit ‘Ça plane pour moi’.
The gig preceded the forthcoming General Election by two weeks (3 May 1979) – by this stage it was widely predicted that a Margaret Thatcher led Conservative Party would run out victors – hence The Damned had their own eloquent way of predicting the future of the country – including changing the lyrics to Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’, to ‘Great Big Tits’.
The set also included their recently released debut on Chiswick Records, ‘Love Song’. On the 10 May 1979, The Damned would make their Top of The Pops debut as the song climbed the charts.
The Town Hall set would finish with their two classic punk singles, ‘New Rose’ and ‘Neat, Neat, Neat’ before the house lights were turned on and the punters ordered out onto Queen Alexandra Road.
An explanation of the chaotic nature to the end of the gig eventually came to light in Ron Watts’ book. Watts commented: “[The Damned] probably hadn’t forgiven me for the way our business partnership had ended three years earlier, refused to leave the stage and the caretaker of the hall called the police, who were stationed next door. They arrived and lined the side of the hall, with the band finishing sharpish and their fans filtering out, although by now the average age of a Damned fan was about 15 so there was never any danger of a riot ensuing. The band were on a percentage of the door take and reckoned I’d fiddled them, even attempting to sue me.”
Watts claims that the financial situation was eventually sorted out but it proved the last dealings he had with The Damned as a promoter – although Watts does recall meeting Captain Sensible over 25 years later at The 100 Club where he initially said; “That tosser from The Damned is here. If he wants a fight, he can have one.” A few minutes later they were chatting away ‘like old mates’, recalling those early pioneering days of punk rock.
For your listening and viewing pleasure
The Vagrant – The Beez – audio of debut single ‘B side
In a Rut – The Ruts – live in Paris 1980
Half-Way to Venezuela – Auntie Pus – audio of 1980 single
Love Song – The Damned – live on BBC Top of the Pops – May 1979
There was a three band ‘punk’ influenced event at The Phoenix Bar, High Wycombe on Easter Sunday 21st April 2019 featuring Healthy Junkies, The Ragged Charms and Public Service Announcement.
Entry was a bargain £5 for the chance to see live three bands with differing influences but all with a passion for live music – as always, I urge you to support your local live music venues in High Wycombe and the surrounding areas.
Easter Madness at The Phoenix, High Wycombe – Sunday 21st April 2019 Featuring The Healthy Junkies, The Ragged Charms and Public Service Announcement
Headliners Healthy Junkies are a London based band with a punk/garage sound. They have been on the live circuit for close to eight years and appeared at The Phoenix in March 2018. Their relentless hard-work has also seen them deliver a wealth of recorded output – including four albums – the most recent ‘Delirious Dream’, released in October 2018.
The band consist of Nina Courson (vocals), Phil-Honey-Jones (guitar), Dave Whitmore (bass) and Pumpy (drums) and provide an energetic mix of punk, metal and pop.
Looking for a reference point for influences, their sound has been compared to the likes of Sonic Youth through to Transvision Vamp, with perhaps an underlying nod to Nirvana. Don’t expect anything but pure on-stage energy and a slick delivery in the process.
Here’s a taste of what expect
Opening the evening were Public Service Announcement. They are no strangers to The Phoenix, having first played there in 2017 and most recently, a headline slot on 15th March 2019. The band consists of John Fleming (vocals), Pete Colverd (guitar) Dan Comben (bass) and Al Lane (drums). John and Pete are former members of High Wycombe post-punk outfit Basta Roc and played their first gig as Public Service Announcement in April 2017 during a charity event in memory of Gareth Jones.
Public Service Announcement Dan, Pete, John and Al
Nearly two years on and the March 2019 gig marked the release of their debut EP – a five track beauty called ‘The Beginning’. The band originally started out playing a mixture of covers and re-works of Basta Roc songs. However, the writing bug appears to have kicked-in and the EP boasts tracks to be proud of.
The five tracks are: ‘What’s Happening’, ‘Come Back To Me’, ‘Five Years’, ‘When We Were Young’ and ‘Magnificent One’. Catchy tunes that stick in your ahead and with subject matter related to all ages. I urge you, at the very least, to take a listen to ‘Come Back to Me’ – written about struggling to cope with relatives and friends with dementia related illness. I was genuinely blown away when I first heard this played live at The Red Lion in Chinnor in August 2018.
On stage in the lead up to The Healthy Junkies were The Ragged Charms – a band making their first live appearance in High Wycombe but with a number of connections to the historically musical town.
The band were formed a year or so back through a collaboration between lead vocalist Ali Jones and guitarists Carlton Mounsher and Johnny Crees. The trio had previously worked with The Deadbeat Apostles but branched out to form their own sound and eventually added Andy Chalk and Neil Peters on bass and drums respectively to complete the rhythm section of the band. The five-piece made their live debut in January 2019 at The Isis River Farmhouse near Oxford.
The Ragged Charms Ali, Carlton, Johnny, Andy and Neil
And so to the connections with High Wycombe: Carlton Mounsher went to school in High Wycombe and was in what is considered to the first punk band from the town, Deathwish. Deathwish first gigged in October 1976 and famously/infamously (delete as appropriate) supported Generation X at The Nag’s Head in March 1977.
Andy Chalk also has a history of playing bass in 1980’s High Wycombe based punk/new wave bands but has more recently launched the Punkarolla radio show on Wycombe Sound in November 2016 and briefly played bass for High Wycombe punk originals, The Xtraverts, during 2017.
Drummer Neil Peters comes from a slightly more recent local pedigree – playing with Straylight Interstate in the late 1990’s and then Subrosa5 as we moved into the 21st century. Neil is no stranger to gigs in High Wycombe having played the Phoenix under its original ‘Roundabout’ name, plus outings at The Antelope and The White Horse.
All this adds up to a version of The Ragged Charms that include an eclectic mix of sounds with influences drawn from Black American music through to traditional blues and straight forward rock ‘n’ roll. Ali’s vocals perhaps give their sound a sub-conscious comparison to PJ Harvey but they have enough variety in their output to let you make your own mind-up.
The Tom Robinson Band returned to High Wycombe Town Hall on Wednesday 4th April 1979 on a date midway through their promotion of their second studio album, TRB 2. The Ron Watts promoted concert was a sell-out and the TRB set was recorded by the BBC mobile for a later broadcast on the Saturday evening Radio One ‘In-Concert’ series. Support came from British rock/pop all-female outfit, The Straits.
During my research for the 40-year anniversary of this gig, the very sad news that TRB guitarist Danny Kustow had passed-away came to light. Kustow’s guitar provided much of the musical power behind the lyrics of Tom Robinson and his band. This article is dedicated to his memory and may his many wonderful licks and solos live on forever.
Tom Robinson Band – montage of memorabilia from the 4th April 1979 gig at High Wycombe Town Hall. Left to right – Danny Kustow, Ian Parker, Charlie Morgan, Tom Robinson Specially created for wycombegigs.co.uk
TRB had last officially played High Wycombe in a Town Hall concert in November 1977. However, my research suggests they were also lined-up for a secret gig at The Nag’s Head on 30th July 1978, shortly after the release of their debut album ‘Power in the Darkness’, but I’ve been unable to confirm if the appearance actually took place. Previous to the Town Hall gig in November 1977, they had also graced the stage at The Nag’s Head on two occasions, making their return in April 1979 as long awaited ‘homecoming’ following the rise to fame through late 1977 and 1978.
Their move into the media spotlight had also seen the band feature in a Granada TV documentary, recorded in the main during their tour of Autumn 1978 and broadcast for the first time on national UK TV in February 1979. However, fame had taken its toll on relationships in the band. By the time of the TRB Two tour, original drummer ‘Dolphin’ Taylor had left and been replaced with Charlie Morgan. Keyboard player Mark Ambler had also flown ship and replaced by Ian Parker. That left lead singer/bassist Tom Robinson and guitarist Danny Kustow, the remaining original members from the foursome that burst onto the seen during 1977 with their heavily polictical rock/pop collaborations. More than 40 years after its release, the messages with the debut album, ‘Power In The Darkness’ remained eerily valid at a time when the UK was being tortured with the political farce of Brexit.
Politics were not the main agenda for support act for the TRB Two tour UK in 1979. Leeds based band, The Straits, had their influences heavily entrenched from 1970’s glam rock.
Their set-list included original songs ‘Strait To The Point’, ‘Release My Soul’, ‘You Belong To Me’, ‘Studio 54’, ‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘Fairground Boys’ and ‘Sacha Shoes Mafia’. However, it was the T.Rex cover ‘Get in On’ that brought the best reaction from a crowd mainly in waiting for the main act.
The Straits – article from Sounds magazine 1979 – taken from the TRB bulletin No.14 given away on the TRB Two tour
For the record, band members, according to a Sounds article published shortly before the tour, were Judi Rock (lead guitar/vocals), Di Harde (bass/vocals), Shirley Newman (rhythm guitar) and Suzi Roll (drums). With the exception of Ms Newman, I think it’s fair to assume those names are pseudonyms. They were touted as heading for success but at the time of this post there appears to be no record of what became of them. Anybody have any clues?
TRB burst onto stage to loud cheers from the packed house and went straight into the opening track of TRB Two, ‘All Right, All Night’, quickly followed by the classic ‘Winter of ’79 – the latter seeing new keyboard player Ian Parker showing his creativity by taking the mid-song instrumental break to a new level – definitely worth a listen on the YouTube audio at the foot of the post.
Tom Robinson Band set list for the Town Hall gig on 4th April 1979
All Right, All Night
Winter of ‘79
Black Angel
Blue Murder
Too Good To Be True
Getting Tighter
Law and Order (**)
Sorry Mr Harris (*)(+)
I Shall Be Released (**)
Glad to be Gay (**)
Martin (**)
Bully For You
Don’t Take No For An Answer (**)
Ain’t Gonna Take It
2-4-6-8 Motorway
Right on Sister (encore) (*) (+)
Jumping Jack Flash (encore) (*) (**)
An edited version of the concert was broadcast on BBC Radio One in May 1979.
The tracks indicated (*) were NOT broadcast by the BBC.
In 2013 a TRB Anthology collection was released with a slightly different selection of tracks.
The tracks indicated (**) were NOT included on the Anthology release.
The tracks indicated (+) were included on the Anthology release but not the BBC broadcast.
The second encore, ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ remains the only track not available from the BBC mobile recording. And if by magic, I’ve managed to find a recording of that in my own collection and include it below (via YouTuber) as further tribute to Danny Kustow, who took on lead vocals for the Rolling Stones cover.
Tom Robinson’s affection for High Wycombe was confirmed in a brief interview for the Bucks Free Press published in the 12th April 1979 edition. Robinson said:
“I don’t know why we’re so popular here but I know why I like playing here, because the people are so friendly and the audience is one of the best I’ve ever played to.”
TRB were to split later in 1979 but Tom Robinson and Danny Kustow would return to High Wycombe within the year – Robinson as a member of his new band, Sector 27 and Kustow as a guitarist with ‘punk’ super-group, Jimmy Norton’s Explosion – the latter featuring Glen Matlock, Paul Cook and drummer Budgie.
For your listening and viewing pleasure
Winter of ’79 (audio) – Tom Robinson Band – High Wycombe Town Hall – 4 April 1979
At the end of the track Tom Robinson reveals to the audience that the gig is being recorded for Radio 1.
”Tonight High Wycombe is to be immortalised again (cheers). I wish those at home could see the sight that confronts us here at High Wycombe Town Hall tonight. Strong men would cry”.
Note: The video is incorrectly dated 1 January 1979
Too good to be true? – Granada TV documentary – broadcast UK TV February 1979
Jumping Jack Flash (audio) – Tom Robinson Band – High Wycombe Town Hall – 4 April 1979
The Beez, a local band from Chesham, made what is believed to be their Nag’s Head debut on 8th March 1979 when they supported The Alligators.
Formed in 1977, they originally performed under the name of Bloo Lite – making their live debut as The Beez at a gig in April 1978 at The Elgiva Hall in Chesham.
Line-up for The Beez was Robert Boughton (guitar/vocals), Gordon Watson (guitar/vocals), Tim Heal (bass) and Paul Morris (drums/vocals).
The Beez quickly built up a local following and recorded their first material in December 1978 at Quest Studios in Luton. A demo tape from The Quest Studio sessions was circulated in order to gain more gigs and two tracks would eventually become their debut single –‘Easy’ coupled with ‘The Vagrant’.
The Beez – outside Quest studios – promo photos complete with autographs from my own collection
They clearly impressed local promoter Ron Watts at The Nag’s Head on 8th March 1979. Watts would have been delighted with the paying punters they attracted to the London Road venue and rewarded them with support slot on the Town Hall stage on 18th April 1979 next to The Damned and The Ruts – it was by far the biggest venue they had played in their short history to that date.
The band would continue their rise to relative local fame with support appearances at Aylesbury Friars, plus further support slots at High Wycombe Town Hall and headline slots at The Nag’s Head.
An EP would follow later in 1979 but by 1980, perhaps frustrated with their lack of wider success, they had split-up. However, their recorded output remains the perfect example of truly independent record releases and the vinyl copies are collectors’ items.
For your listening pleasure
Easy – The Beez – audio of debut single ‘B’ side
The Vagrant – The Beez – audio of debut single ‘B’ side
On Friday 1st March 2019 I was back as a guest on Andy Chalk’s Punkarolla radio show on Wycombe Sound. This time sitting alongside another long-time friend, Martin Percival, talking more about the 40th anniversary of gigs in High Wycombe and reminiscing in particular about an appearance by The Damned at The Town Hall on 18th April 1979 – a gig where the punk originals were supported by a then up and coming punk/reggae group The Ruts and local band The Beez.
We played a selection of our Damned favourites from throughout the years, plus tracks from the support acts on the night. There was also the usual stuff old and new. It was broadcast between 9pm and 11pm on the new monthly (1st Friday of each month) time slot – hosted as usual by Andy.
It is possible to listen live in the High Wycombe area via 106.6 FM, via the internet and radio player.
Shows are also available to ‘Listen Again’ for four weeks via www.wycombesound.org.uk
The direct link to the Punkarolla ‘Listen Again’ page is:
I have since posted up more details of The Damned gig from April 1979 as a mark for 40th anniversary. This include set-lists from the all the acts that played that evening. If you want to hear previously un-circulated audio clips, please leave a comment and I’ll try to get these online.
An enhanced version of the advert from the Bucks Free Press is included below.
Damned, Ruts, Beez – High Wycombe Town Hall advert from Bucks Free Press Midweek – enhanced for wycombegigs.co.uk
A High Wycombe District Council promoted ‘Rock Concert’ at High Wycombe Town Hall on Monday 12th February 1979 saw a fledgling Adam and The Ants take to the stage alongside local band The Vents.
The Ants date was part of their Young Parisians tour and the date appears to coincide with their departure from Decca records.
Adam and the Ants plus The Vents – High Wycombe Town Hall – Monday 12th February 1979 – advert from Bucks Free Press
Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard) had formed the band in London in early 1977 – originally as The Ants, before adopting the eventually well-known Adam and The Ants title. They went through several line-up changes before signing for Decca records in 1978. The debut single ‘Young Parisians’ had little chart success, although the band had built up a significant cult following, particularly in the London area, with their followers going under the guise of ‘Ant People’. During this post-punk period it was a common site to see gig goers with leather jackets painted with Adam and The Ants.
Further recording for Decca were made during 1978, along with two John Peel sessions. But their time with Decca does not appear to be a happy one.
The date of the Town Hall concert is noted as around the time that Adam and The Ants left Decca records – Goddard is quoted as saying:
“…as you know Decca own things like televisions and missiles and things like that…………..we weren’t dropped by Decca, their A & R department just folded up and they let us go, which was just a joke. Everyone thought we were just a 100% hardcore speed band so we put ‘Parisians’ out. I preferred ‘Lady’ and it was a double A side but Decca played it to Radio 1 and they said that ‘Parisians’ was better.”
A bootleg recording of this concert has been widely circulated and confirms the set-list for the evening was:
Nietsche Baby
Day I Met God
Animals And Men
Cleopatra
Kick!
Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)
Catholic Day
Boil In The Bag Man
Family Of Noise
Press Darlings
Zerox
Lady
Puerto Rican/Scab
Fall In
B-Side Baby
Hampstead
The line-up of the band at the time of the Town Hall appearance was Adam Ant (vocals and guitar), Matthew Ashman (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Dave Barbarossa (drums).
Adam and The Ants – Decca promo picture 1978 – showing Adam Ant, Matthew Ashman, Andrew Warren and David ‘Barbe’ Barbarossa
They went on to release their debut album, ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’ In October 1979 on the Do It record label. It would reach the top of the newly formed Independent Album charts.
The history of Adam and The Ants post their Town Hall appearance in February 1979 is an interesting one. Former Sex Pistols Manager Malcolm McClaren was hired by Adam and The Ants in early 1980 to help with their path to wider recognition. However, instead, McClaren convinced Matthew Ashman (guitar), Leigh Gorman (who had by then replaced Andy Warren on bass) and Dave Barbarossa (drums) to leave the band and form a new group under McLaren’s management. A thirteen year old Annabella Lwin would become the lead vocalist for the new band – Bow Wow Wow.
Meanwhile, Adam Ant continued with a new version of his band featuring guitarist Marco Pirroni (an ex-member of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Models, Rema Rema and Cowboys International) plus Kevin Mooney (bass guitar), and two drummers, Terry Lee Miall and Chris Hughes. The new band would take to the road for their ‘Ants Invasion’ in the first-half of 1980 while still pinning down a record deal. They would visit High Wycombe again in May 1980 for what would become an infamous evening at The Town Hall and one that proved the catalyst for the local Council to end ‘rock concerts’ at the historic venue. I’ll leave the detail of that evening until a later posting but those with memories of the 1979 or 1980 (riot) are welcome to get in touch.
For your listening and viewing pleasure:
Young Parisians – Adam and The Ants – single audio 1978
Lady – Adam and The Ants – single B side audio 1978
The UK Subs made what is believed to be their first ever appearance in High Wycombe on Friday 2nd February 1979, with a gig at the Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education Student Union Bar. The date is also significant as it was on this day that Sid Vicious was found dead in his New York flat following a heroin overdose. Meanwhile, back in High Wycombe, according to music paper gig listings, there was also the choice of seeing Adam and The Ants appearing at The Nag’s Head.
2nd February 1979 gig listings from Record Mirror – UK Subs and Adam & The Ants in High Wycombe
The basis of what would become the UK Subs had been formed out of the 1976 London punk scene, when ‘30 something’ hairdresser, Charlie Harper pulled together a band that performed under various names before settling on ‘United Kingdom Subversives’ and then the abbreviated UK Subs for their first gigs around the summer of 1977. John Peel sessions followed but it was not until September 1978 that they released their first studio recordings – a three track single on City Records featuring live favourites ‘C.I.D’., ‘Live in a Car’ and ‘B.I.C.’ Earlier in 1978 they had two live tracks included on the ‘Farewell to the Roxy’ LP.
The UK Subs line-up for their debut release was the same as the one that appeared at their High Wycombe appearance in February 1979:
UK Subs – Gem Records promo photo 1979 Left to right: Nicky Garratt (guitar, 23), Paul Slack (bass, 21), Charlie Harper (vocals,34), Pete Davies (drums, 24)
This gig at The SU Bar pre-dated their signing to Gem Records and subsequent rise in popularity by a few months – their first widely available single, ‘Stranglehold’ would be released in June 1979 and they would return to High Wycombe to play the Town Hall twice more in 1979 to promote the single and their debut album release ‘Another Kind of Blues’.
The UK Subs still continued to perform at the time of this post – with lead vocalist – veteran rocker Charlie Harper the only common face throughout and aged 74 as of February 2019! Their gigging history has seen them return to High Wycombe on a number of occasions – playing The Flint Cottage, White Horse and The Phoenix. They were due to return to The Phoenix in November 2019 – an incredible 40 plus years since their appearance at the SU Bar back in February 1979.
Back in February 1979, a much younger (but still ‘old’) Harper would have heard the news of the death of Sid Vicious by the time his band took to the SU Bar stage. Less than three years previous, Vicious (real name John Beverley) had seen The Sex Pistols in at the close by College Main Hall – a notorious character on the London ‘punk’ scene, he later became bass player for the Sex Pistols before the band split in January 1978. He was just 21 years old at the time of his death. The circumstances surrounding his death were still being discussed and analysed at the time of this post.
Sid Vicious obituary from Record Mirror – 10th February 1979
Advertised for the same evening as the UK Subs gig were Adam and The Ants at The Nag’s Head. The The London based band were fronted by Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard). 24 year old Goddard was in the stages of promoting his band, Adam and The Ants, formed around the summer of 1977 and on the back of the ‘punk’ explosion but starting to move more towards a ‘pop’ sound. I’m unsure if the Nag’s Head appearance actually took place on 2nd February 1979. It is listed in some publications as High Wycombe Town Hall but I can confirm the Town Hall appearance was a few days later on Monday 12th February 1979. Perhaps The Nag’s Head was a warm-up date or simply never took place?
If the multiple events of Friday 2nd February 1979 weren’t enough to keep up interest at the time, local gig goers could have also taken in an appearance by Sham 69 at Aylesbury Friars on Wednesday 31st January 1979 – this was the gig where lead singer Jimmy Pursey claimed this would the final live appearance for this band – Pursey becoming increasingly frustrated with crowd trouble at Sham 69 gigs. A day after The UK Subs gig at The SU Bar you could have travelled across to Friars again to see Stiff Little Fingers play as headliners on their Rough Trade tour to promote their recently released debut album, ‘Inflammable Material’. A busy week!
Anybody with any memories or clarification of these gigs, please get in touch.
Liven up your Christmas Day 2018 by listening to the seasonal special of Wycombe Sound’s Punkarolla show hosted by Andy Chalk between 8pm and 10pm on 25th December 2018.
It is possible to listen live in the High Wycombe area via 106.6 FM, via the internet and mobile app. Shows are also available to ‘Listen Again’ for four weeks via www.wycombesound.org.uk
The direct link to the Punkarolla ‘Listen Again’ page is:
