No Lip at the UXB10 Festival.

We made it out for the night!

I've been looking forward to this for months; Pete Corse of 'No Lip' and his friends organised a two day festival in Uxbridge to raise money for the Macmillan Nurses and to give local bands a new venue.

We got a big stage, speakers and monitors....everything;

And all the proceeds went to a very good cause;

We got there late (I'm still a bit crotchety at the moment) but we were there in time to see 'Holy Faction' who played alternative punk and we liked them a lot;

This is 'Dog Rotten', young and full of action;

But I have to admit the highlight for me was 'No Lip', which shouldn't be any surprise if you've read this Blog for any time;

Straight forward punk sung at the top of it's voice in 3 minute bursts;

The band were a blast, even if the mikes were playing up by this time.

This is Pete Corse, who deserves a big thank you for putting on such a great night; 

And it really was a blast, as you can see;

Last band on were 'Rage DC';

We ended up staggering home at 12-30, at which time I could have done with my own personal Macmillan Nurse.

The second night is tonight; £3-00 on the door and 7 (yes 7!) bands including 'Girl in the Garden', who I've reviewed here before
.
I may not make that but if you're free it will be good.....it's at The Battle of Britain Club, Hillingdon Road, Uxbridge.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home:helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

No Lip at The Five Bells, Stanwell.

That was a good night and it very nearly didn't happen. I'd been looking forward to seeing No Lip, the only Punk band worth seeing, play Baroosh in Staines for a very long time.

Then the venue closed down.

Luckily, the band found a replacement venue at the Five Bells in Stanwell; 

Punk rock at it's best;

These days I'm not so good at standing up for a whole evening but it was worth it even if I'm paying for it now;



The Clash, The Ruts, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols played fast and furious as it was meant to be played, in a small venue up close and personal.

There was Pogoing (not by me), beer went flying, speakers went flying! Someone tried to steal my hat, twice.

It was a good, good night.

1977 all over again, even if my joints are a bit creaky these days;

Staines finest punk band are getting a reputation a lot further away these days, you can catch them at festivals as well as all the major local venues - they are even on Facebook too.

Check them out.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

No Lip at The Cave, Addlestone.

We made it!

It was my first night out in a very long time.

At least a couple of months I'd say. Which is all down to the inconvenience of having broken my back in, eh, several places.

Darn!

Obviously, I wouldn't have made it at all without Robyn and the help of a mega painkiller.

But what better way of celebrating than going to The Cave at The Holly Tree in Addlestone for Saturday night?

Well worth it though - listening to a set of classic punk tracks played as they were meant to be.

And in a small venue too.
I like The Cave and I've seen some great bands there.

And what better band to see than 'No Lip', playing punk fast and furious;

We got even got a name check; they played 'The Ruts' 'Staring at the Rude Boys' for us which means a lot to me.

This time last year I was going to The Cave to watch bands booked for The Undercover Festival at Bisley, which was great because I wasn't going to be free to get there.

Amazingly, it's happening again this year it must be a real battle to keep it going. With 'The Damned' headlining and a long list of bands you can facebook the festival to check out whose playing - which includes 'No Lip'.

So you can expect some of this;

 

 

Now, if I can handle 'No Lip', what next?

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 



All dressed up!

As you can see I'm all getting dressed up!

It's my walking frame and back brace. I must admit I would have preferred it if it had looked a bit more like Darth Vador's body armour.

We are going out tonight - for the first time in......well the first time for a very long time.

We're off to see 'No Lip', an explosive punk band at 'The Cave' at Addlestone.

This morning I actually walked to the village Post office and I was ON MY OWN!

It's the first time and hopefully the start of a bit more mobility.

Anyway, we are both quite excited about tonight. The Cave is a famous old venue. 

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

No Lip at The Six Bells,

 

 

OK, I'm in real trouble now. I'm trembling in my DM's.

 

It's a 'Things to do in Denver when you're dead' situation.

 

Some months ago I was given the new 'No Lip' mini-cd......I haven't reviewed it yet and they know! 

 

THEY KNOW!!!

 

It's only a matter of time....before....you know....they......

 

It was a cold and wet November night.

 

In the pitch dark, the neon reflected back at me from the mean streets of Brentford. Leaves rustled in the wind, in the distance I could hear a stifled scream.....was that footsteps behind me as I locked the car?

 

Was someone following us in the dark alley?

 

Would I make it to the streetlights, would I make it to safety?

 

 

Don't they understand that when I put the disc onto the Dancette Deluxe©, the needle kept slipping - have they no pity?

Probably not, (gulp)

 



I could go on a course maybe, perhaps I could learn the technology?

 

Really, I could change.

 

On the other hand, I just went to see the band, again. This is what they have to say about themselves;

"Right, lets get this straight.
We are playing no frills, straight up honest as you like punk rock.
We don't bother with our own stuff it just clouds the issue, the issue being bringing these tunes back to an appreciative audience and not trying to promote our own half assed take on current affairs, we leave that to the Facefuk generation.
Why not come along to this show and hear full on, heart felt renditions of PuNk RoCk classics and rarities plus tunes to groove to before and after the blistering live set. So tell everyone you know, whether you like them or not and get down to the clash city rockers that are No Lip

Except that Brentford is not exactly as mean as it once was (I could tell a few tales, but I'd better not) and The Six bells is quite a cosy Pub these days.

Not on Saturday it wasn't.

You have to be a certain age to get Punk - that blistering furious rage that erupted in 1976 and never really went away for us.

And we were right.

Ray Davis of The Kinks stopped talking for about two years when he was a kid in the 1950's. He went through the whole range of medical examinations, child psychologists and social workers. They all gave up but in the end he started talking again.

Years later he was interviewed about it and said; "I just think I realised what was coming and couldn't speak anymore"

We knew what was coming too.

And we were angry.

So anyway, Saturday night was punk night at The Six Bells; a tiny Pub with some puzzled regulars and some even more puzzled passers by on the pavement looking in through the windows - I said that Brentford had changed.

But No Lip have a very loyal following who know their reputation for playing a wide range of punk classics, pretty much as they were meant to be played (at the top of their voice and two fingers up to the world).

Always a great night out with No Lip.

I'd go to see them just because they play 'The Ruts' really well....and they were amazing live. There are some YouTube clips that don't do them justice; this is what they were really like.

And thanks for playing 'Complete Control' by The Clash - that's pretty much what it was all about. Now, if only you could learn 'White man in the Hammersmith Palais'......

But it was all there - The Damned, The Pistols, The Clash.
Sham.

In some ways the second burst of Punk was better than the first but then again there was nothing quite like The Clash.

So, as a matter of principle, I turned up in full MOD gear.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

I would also like to extend my best wishes to Darren Crewe who got two shoutouts of support from the band (I don't know Darren, but I do know his other half Elaine) and they are having a tough, tough fight. They would have loved to have been at The Six Bells with us, I know.

This is an amazing live band and in a small pub it's just perfect.

You can see them yourselves on 29th November at The Holroyd, Guildford and on the 6th December at The Hobgoblin, Staines when they are supported by MoCara, a really good young band I've seen a number of times already.
That'll be a great night too.

And eventually, if I can only get the 8-track working again, I will get round to reviewing that CD.

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

No Lip at The Cave, Addlestone.



 

     NO LIP



 

On Friday night we weren't feeling so great, we were feeling like this;

 

So we took a trip to The Cave in Addlestone, otherwise known as The Holly Tree and once upon a time home to bands like The Jam and Sham 69.

 

I think by now you've guessed that we were there for the number one, don't give a flying F£#K Punk Band;

 

    NO LIP

The Cave was melting down;

As No Lip played Punk the way it was meant to be; at the top of its voice and with a sneer. 

And as my girlfriend is about to be made homeless by a greedy, cold hearted landlady, everything had the feel of the 1970's about it too.

But it was really good to see you out and about again Elaine!

The band has an E.P. out and I'll be reviewing it in a few days time. I can't imagine that anything from a studio could ever compare to this;

I can't resist putting this last picture in mainly because I can;

 

 

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 



No Lip at the Six Bells Brentford.

Saturday night there was only one place to be;

The place? The Six Bells Brentford.

The Time? 9-00 pm.

The Reason?

No Lip

 

You just had to be there.

Brentford and I go back a long way – lived there, worked there, watched the town change as the real people got driven out. But on Saturday night there were still a few real people left and only one place to be – packed tight in the bar for;

 

This is ‘No Lip’,

Take it or Leave it

  No 1. Punk Band.

 

Playing a long, long set of Punk classics the way they were meant to be played.

 

Which only ended at about 12 30 after the band had started to go through the set again, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything the first time.

That was quite a special night for me;

Because I was given a No Lip T-shirt, which is strictly not available in all the usual outlets.

And if I hadn’t been quite so overcome, I would have told you that the feeling is mutual.

Like your work, gentlemen.

Click on a picture for a slideshow.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Oh and specially for Robyn;

Yo, West Philadelphia, Yo!
   

No Lip, Demon Smiles and Wrank at The Cave, Addlestone.

I don’t think this is MOD night;

 Nice Tee, but it doesn’t look like MOD night at all;

No, it really isn’t - I may be in the wrong place;

 

No way, it’s;

NO LIP

                       

My favourite Punk band and they’ve taken me straight back to 1978 to The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ruts, The Ramones, Sham 69 and lots more.

I did a review of them here, with some memories that mean a lot to me;

http://helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/no-lip-at-hobgoblin.html

And it was all happening down in 'The Cave' at The Holly Tree, Addlestone – where Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69, The Jam and a whole load of other bands cut their teeth in days gone by.

So, a lot of memories. It's a drug I try to stay clear of because in life there is no going back.

But if you want an some idea of the excitement of 77, when we were all going mad and 'The World turned Dayglo'- this is as near as you'll ever get. But then you weren't there were you?

History qistory – this was fun, even if it's not exactly MOD night;

This was the second taster for Undercover at Bisley (19/21 September 2014) – that’s too far ahead for me to plan for, so these nights are all I'll be able to manage.

But hey, how lucky am I?

There were two other bands on the bill as well; ‘Wrank’ a lively punk band and Demon Smiles from Brighton – here’s their guitarist;

 

I really enjoyed ‘The Train North’ which, I suppose, if you live in Brighton has all the thrill that the ‘Road to Brighton’ has for us.

It’s really tough trying to make it as a band, and it doesn't get tougher than struggling all the way up from Brighton on a Thursday for no money.

When I see these great bands taking such trouble to play for us, that's why I do these reviews.

Click a picture for a slideshow.

'No Lip' are playing The North Star in Staines on the 31st, although I'm hatching plans of my own that night....

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home:   helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

     p

    THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

            F.A.B      

                                         c        a

       k

      technicolor

No Lip at The Hobgoblin.

NO LIP

1977 AND WE ARE GOING MAD..

                                              

 

Or actually is it The Hobgoblin 2014?

 

It really is 2014 but you’ll have to forgive me time travelling for a while.

 

 The Ruts; we f#ing love them

 

Its 1978, the second Rock Against Racism Carnival and I’m hanging back by the side of a broken down flat bed truck talking to Tom Robinson. It’s the middle of nowhere and the band that should be playing on the back of the truck are fighting their ancient equipment and losing the struggle.

But the growing crowd isn’t going to move on when they are told to because this is an early outing for The Ruts and whenever they get it together they are absolutely f#ing amazing. The Police really do not like it. There is a stand off until the truck splutters into life again and the band power up to play- In a Rut.

 

Cut to spring 1978 and I’m lying in a hospital bed with a broken elbow. I’m supposed to be in Southall in what ends up being the Southall riot. In fact it’s a Police Riot and The Ruts are one of the targets.

I should have been with friends in the People Unite Squat. This was the home of the famous People Unite Records collective and a thorn in the side of the local council and the nearby police station. Locally, they were a threat to the state and when the chance came, the Special Patrol Group took it and went in and smashed up all the studio equipment and the people inside. Misty in Roots got particular attention, every drum, every guitar smashed. As was all The Ruts stuff. Within weeks the council had levelled the building.

At that time Southall was white working class and Asian working class and that day they came together to defend their town. Since then the town has changed and it’s become a middle class, money making place.

But if you walk a few minutes away from the police station towards Ealing you will see the brass plaque on the pavement that the local Sikh community placed to commemorate the People Unite Collective and the contribution that The Ruts and Misty in Roots made to the town.

Did No Lip really play H-eyes? I haven’t heard that for 35 years.

Clash City Rockers

 

It’s Christmas week 1978 and I’m in The Lyceum on the Strand. I’m standing next to Don Letts (DJ from The Roxy Club) who has somehow begged, borrowed, stolen or found a movie camera and some film. It doesn’t really look like he knows what he’s doing. We’ve never met before but we are looking at each other in amazement. The Clash are better than we have ever seen them before.

 

 
There’s gonna be a Borstal Breakout.

Jimmy Pursey was another threat – April 1978 and it’s the first Rock Against Racism Carnival in Victoria Park.

X-Ray Specs, Tom Robinson Band, Steel Pulse and The Clash; how’s that for a lineup?

And when The Clash come on there is Jimmy Pursey with them on guest vocals. After that I saw Sham 69 many times, and also after that, when the far right found that they couldn’t manipulate Pursey, every time they played there was always going to be a fight. I can’t speak highly enough of Jimmy Pursey’s courage in those days. Not a man to give in to anyone.

NO LIP

Uncompromising, no messing, no surrender.

This is how they describe themselves;

Right, lets get this straight. We are playing no frills, straight up honest as you like punk rock. We don't bother with our own stuff it just clouds the issue, the issue being bringing these tunes back to an appreciative audience and not trying to promote our own half assed take on current affairs, we leave that to the "Facefuk" generation. Why not come along to this show and hear full on, heart felt renditions of PuNk RoCk classics and rarities plus tunes to groove to before+after the blistering live set. So tell everyone you know, whether you like them or not and get down to the clash city rockers that are "NO LIP"
 

 

 And that’s about right.

They played a couple of Sex pistols tracks which is fine but for most of us, the art school punks and the Bromley contingent were a million miles away from where we were.

The Clash, The Ruts, The Angelic Upstarts, Sham 69, The Damned.

Pure Mayhem, Pure Punk.

I don’t care who you are or where you are.

No Lip are playing The North Star, May 31st.

You better be there.

 

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Photos: you can click on a photo and get a slideshow which is a little better quality.

Swear words; it may not seem like it but this is meant to be a health campaign - if I don't # them out my Blog gets excluded from many searches. IRL I have been known to swear.

Punks; My thanks to all the Punks at the Hob for giving me such a special night to remember, you have no idea what it meant to me.