This was Charlie Harpers 81st birthday party one night before the actual day, we arrived just before Special Duties came on and while Charlie was still wandering round the hall having photos with old friends.
Special Duties opened there set of Aggro punk with What I guess was Human Zoo but was probably the band's theme tune Special Duties as Arrogant barked out the vocals. Billy Jones sounded like they had gone a good 18 hours since they last had any whizz up their hooters. Still they got rid of the Jones they had by taking too much cocaine as they blasted through Too Much Talkin' at 180 mph.
Arrogant made sure we all knew that Special Duties were Punk Rockers for life and was originally part of the bands spat with Crass. I think they then played They Don't Care About Me with its's tales of mortality and super speedy drumming and guitar. Not heard many songs about gobbing in a while, the one they sang needed a pot of Evo stick to go with it.
They will forever be Rebels and encouraged us all to keep to that credo, before tackling the evils of drug addiction on Time Bomb before getting to the bands heroic anthem Punks & Boot Boys that had a good football theme for those of us that were off to Wembley on the Sunday where I saw t-Shirts for Bad Brains, Conflict and Crass.
Arrogant handed the vocals over to Dave on Guitar for the opening of This Is Who We Are or whatever it was really called. He let out a guttural roar as part of the intro to this sing along classic. Doing Yourself No Good was another cautionary tale in debt to the amphetamine gods Motorhead.
They took us back to the band's early days for Violent Society that looked around at late 70's Colchester and Essex and didn't like what they saw. They liked Mary Whitehouse and her prudish ways even less, while acknowledging that some of the things she didn't want us to see were indeed very bad indeed.
My guess for the next song was Conversation it kept to the hard and fast formula before they got us all wishing happy birthday to Charlie and finishing with a ram raid through Police State that was horrified with how things were back then and should be even more angry for where we are now.
After a short break it was time for the current line-up of Menace to Screw It Up so badly they are threatening to put Noel back behind the drum kit later in the year. Noel Martin made clear that Society's Insane still and who could argue with that. Noel then claimed that I Don't Wanna Be Angry Anymore as Dave Jenkins bass riff ripped through the song and ended with Noel giving in as he is angrier now than ever sadly.
David Leaks was using his guitar like the Electrocutioners axe scything down anyone deserving of that treatment. It was time for us all to sing along to Party Animal, we were at a party after all. Noel Checked that Simon Edwards knew how to count the band into 1212, he did and we all shouted along with him.
C & A was like always a huge anthem with a big pit. I'm Civilized seems to be what separates all of the punks from the idiots in mainstream society these days. New song I Don't Believe In Anything was good and punchy and featured a harmonica solo from Noel.
Before they started So Fuck You Noel told the security staff to let anyone who wanted to onto the stage to join them, they bashed through this classic with loads of fans dancing and singing onstage with them and miraculously one of them even looked like he might be under 40. Menace are still angry and bitter at how badly the GLC failed London. Then of course they made us all sing Happy Birthday to Charlie before closing the set with Last Year's Youth to make clear once more that 1977 you told the truth a clarion call and perfect sing along like always.
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Then it was time for Charlie Harper to celebrate his 81st Birthday by playing a great show with UK Subs who are playing shows to promote Charlies Autobiography An Anarchy of Demons. They opened with a brisk Rockers that had some very crunchy guitar from new boy Abel Inglis. Charlie was still seeking out more Kicks and we all wanted to share them with him.
Alvin Gibbs bass led them straight into Police State that seemed to be even angrier than the Special Duties Police State earlier in the evening. Stefan Haublien made sure there was almost no pause as Charlie started telling us We Are as they then flew into Emotional Blackmail, this was a whirlwind set that would put many far younger bands to shame.
I think Charlie took a short Beer break before he made clear we shouldn't join the Rat Race, if you do you may not end up as an 81 year old Punk rocker for whom Time Don't Matter with Abel totally tearing it up on guitar like Time And Matter are colliding at high speed.
A relationship was obviously wrecked for Bitter & Twisted but Charlie survived to tell us all about it. Almost everyone sang along to Down Here On The Farm Charlie flashed us a wicked grin to make certain no one wanted to Kill Me for living the Limo Life playing a set that left most of the audience out of breath.
Charlie has spent his adult life looking for a Little Bit Of Action and the 229 Club certainly has plenty of action in the mosh pit. Barbies Dead sadly it was all too much for her, she never quite got to have that Party in Paris that Charlie will never forget.
Tomorrows Girls almost felt a little bit steamrollered it was played so aggressively. In the grand tradition of UK Subs show Warhead is always a monumental centrepiece and this version was no different, everyone yelled the chorus when Charlie asked us too. We went back to the dark days of the Riot Squad chasing punks all over town.
How can the UK Subs make a song like Stranglehold sound so uplifting as Abel proved he's a perfect guitarist for the UK Subs, before they closed this set with Disease that left us all feeling a little bit dirty and guilty but of course also in need of more UK Subs.
The band came back on and then Charlie invited 3 of his grandchildren onstage to help us all to sing Happy birthday again, before Charlie's son made a brief appearance, then the band launched into CID like the sweeny were on their tails and they had to get out of town.
The bad old days were brought to mind on I Live In A Car, although it is also what happens when you're always on tour. I think it was You Don't Belong next, that sort of makes clear that all of us don't fit in with the mainstream and we are better off for that, before they closed with a rough and ready version of Endangered Species that was more than enough for us all to leave smiling at the end of a magnificent 81st birthday party for the inimitable Punk King Charlie Harper.
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