Trouble / violence at gigs.

[sten]

THAT'S THE MAN WATCHED THE ALBION A BIT AS DID HIS BROTHERS

Sisters was a sort

 

[sten]

Rrrr the Macc Lads. Literally banned from every venue in the country. First came across them when a guy at work played there album over the P.A. system.
Best track for me is "Sweaty Betty".

"Sweaty Betty"

Saw em play the old vic they bought their own crates of boddingtons was suppose to go and see the housemartins at corn exchange but stayed in vic much better nite

 

[brighton bluenose]

How about Sham 69 playing the New Regent and a coach load of scum turned up from Croydon - bottom of West Street was a battlefield!!

 

[sten]

How about Sham 69 playing the New Regent and a coach load of scum turned up from Croydon - bottom of West Street was a battlefield!!

Few used get in at the damned gigs as well cause capt was a big fan

 

[Chicken Runner61]

The only gig in Brighton I remember where it went off big time was the buzzcocks one - Its been mentioned on here before I remember it well and seeing someone with an axe going through the PA.

All the other stuff was pretty minor just the odd ruck with most of it sorted without Old bill turning up.

I do remember a few Sham and Cockney Rejects gigs in London which went off especially Cockney Rejects who used to object to a lot of the NF skins starting things so usually jumped in and took a few out.
I remember Skewdriver well and knew someone wannabe hoolie (Rex) who was their Roadie. Pretty sure he supported Chelsea and the BNP and lived in Colchester but ended up moving to Stoke to try and stir things up there but a few years ago he died.

Stranglers was always fun and the Jam but going to the Electric Circus for The Fall, Buzzcocks, Joy Div and Steel Pulse was pretty amazing

 

[Beach Hut]

Specials in 81? at the Suite, around 50 fights give or take 10, absolute chaos
The Jam final gig dec 11 1982 a few rockers tried to spoil the party and luzzed a big, brown half gallon glass cider bottle, missed Wellers head by inches, he was NOT happy. The rockers first felt a fist, then a kick, then their life spun around

I was at that Specials gig, it was carnage

 

[SouthCoastOwl]

Rrrr the Macc Lads. Literally banned from every venue in the country. First came across them when a guy at work played there album over the P.A. system.
Best track for me is "Sweaty Betty".

"Sweaty Betty"

Macc Lads were childish tossers, but hardly dangerous. We ran their PA for them in and around South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, the most we had to worry about was a seriously fat fan trying to grab a mike and singing along. Song wise, "I used to go out Miss Macclesfield" and "Sweaty Betty" were real winners.

 

[smudge]

regards
DR

Brighton white boy reggae band. Large mob from Edward St Flats were over thinking they'd give the Lewes yokels a shoe-ing. Back then Landport was a different place Das! (Windy was on the wrong end of a flying bottle!)

 

[cheshunt seagull]

Ramones in Portsmouth 1980 ; some local punks get on stage to join in the encore and get forcibly removed leading to bouncers and locals exchanging punches. Same situation a few weeks later with the Clash but this time Joe lets them stay on stage encourages others to join in and takes them all back to a party at the Queens Hotel at which the band get arrested in the early hours; different approaches.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Macc Lads were childish tossers, but hardly dangerous. We ran their PA for them in and around South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, the most we had to worry about was a seriously fat fan trying to grab a mike and singing along. Song wise, "I used to go out Miss Macclesfield" and "Sweaty Betty" were real winners.

I saw them a few times as my house mate's friend used to date the drummer. They were utter shite.

 

[SouthCoastOwl]

I saw them a few times as my house mate's friend used to date the drummer. They were utter shite.

Said drummer was a bit of a plank, had no idea how to sound check a drum kit which should be a prerequisite for a tubthumper mein herr

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Brighton white boy reggae band. Large mob from Edward St Flats were over thinking they'd give the Lewes yokels a shoe-ing. Back then Landport was a different place Das! (Windy was on the wrong end of a flying bottle!)

yep , bumped into philps'y yesterday ,told me reg harding had passed away
regards
DR

 

[PFJ]

Test tube babies still banging about they used to support everyone who played top rank back in the day, best gig I ever saw the damned anti nowhere league and babies it was mental top rank 80/81 think, animal pissing off balcony on crowd below when damned where on, all good fun but as usual the skins kicked off at the front ��

If I remember rightly , that was Palace skins versus Brighton skins . Some the Palace skins were wearing Palace shirts. Suicide. It was also the night Scabies had his nose broken by a full can of beer chucked at him whilst he did his little 'I hate Brighton , you're all hooligans ' monologue at the front of the stage. Sensible was wearing the white Palace shirt with the red and blue sash onstage.
Not very sensible.

 

[The Birdman]

Went to will young gig at the brighton centre pretty bad I fell asleep and got earache from the Wife!

 

[PFJ]

The exploited , UK subs , and the test tubes at the Dome theatre , around 81/82 I think . Whole place went up in the air . Only lasted around half an hour . The subs and test tubes locked themselves in the dressing rooms while the exploited joined in , followed by several police baton charges. A legendary evening's entertainment if I do say so myself.

Remember this one as well . Don't remember the Test Tubes playing , definatly remember the massive ruck between the skins and punks which resulted in the skins trying to pull Capt Scarlett of the Subs off the stage and the Subs road crew exchanging missiles with skins until a fire extiguisher was thrown from the stage into the audience. The skins atatcked the stage and were trying to rip the side door off to get the crew. Then a police message came over the tannoy to advise the Exploited would still play in order to avoid anymore violence. That set lasted about 10 minutes before it all kicked off again. Their bassist was swinging his bass around and some of the skins threw a symbol at Wattie. I spoke to him after , and could 'nt speak because the symbol had cut his lower lip in half almost seperating it from his face. Both Wattie and Charlie Harper were genuinly shocked by what had happened.
The Exploited were banned from Brighton for about 20 years . When they did eventually play The Concorde 2 , Wattie kept referencing that night between songs.

 

[PFJ]

Other feisty gigs worth a mention
Clash at Crawley '77
Stranglers at Crawley.Remember Smelly's brother getting a shoeing because the Crawley lot thought he was Smelly , and therefore from Brighton.
Buzzcocks Top rank
UK Subs , Top Rank . Skins had to give up their Doc Martens and still it kicked during every song. In the end Nicky Garrett jumped into the crowd and split a skinhead's head open with his mike stand.
Madness at the Art College a week before the Two Tone gig at the Top Rank.
Specials at the Top rank , 81 ish. Brighton skins lead RB , looking for Pompey skins . And they found them and it kicked off.
Selector at the Top rank . Got my nose broken at that one.
Chelsea at the Top Rank . Gene October instigated punks v skins because of a bit of a skinhead stage invasion .
Reading Festival 1978. Sham skins against the Hells angels.
Stray Cats and The Meteors , Top Rank
999 , Lyceum 1978. Skins vs punks.
I could go on .
Not seen anything like that in recent times . The nearest was some local EDL skin getting twatted by a local face during a set by Control from Crawley (used to be called Beerzone) at a UK Subs gig at the Hydrant about four years ago.

 

[Buzzer]

The Klub Foot night at the Clarendon (?) in Hammersmith were always lively affairs and I was just glad to get out unscathed.. To be fair, most of the rowdiness was good-natured but there was always one or two blokes looking to take it further. The King Kurt gigs especially were just pant-wettingly scary and that was on a quiet night. I didn't go many times. I think the first gig where I saw a fight might have been at the Brighton Centre back in 1986? With Jungle Brothers, Run DMC and (I think) Beastie Boys. Horrible atmosphere, horrible venue.I stopped going to Drum and Bass nights in Brighton venues and always avoided the R&B ones too - guaranteed aggro especially at that place by the Market Diner. Bad vibes. Very bad vibes.

I've seen a fair few fights over the years but most have been handbags sort of stuff. What sticks in my mind is the incongruity of the band and there being fights. Nick Cave gig at the Brighton Centre in about 2007 or 2008 was one. I think he was doing one of his ballads too. The Damned doing their disastrous reunion at the Concorde in about 2002. Capt. Sensible in fetish leather urging the crowd to have pops at Dave Vanian and sure enough, someone lobbed a bottle and he storms off. Gig finished.

The funniest was at the Komedia back in about 2005 at the Comedy Club night. Two gay blokes were having a quickie in the ladies' loos and a girl had taken offence at this. And then another girl took offence at the girl taking offence. And then the boyfriends/husbands got involved. Only in Brighton.....

My brother went to the Public Enemy gig at Brixton in 91(?) and tells me that's the benchmark for him for most fights in one night. Thankfully he got out unscathed.

 

[Safeway]

Things got a bit boisterous at a Twang gig at the Concorde a few years ago, leading to the band stopping playing to tell people to calm down. The funniest though was at the Old Market in Hove of all places when The View were performing. Halfway through, seemingly the whole floor erupted in a mass punch up. Claret and shirt buttons everywhere. The band were oblivious as the security staff struggled in vain to contain things.

 

[smudge]

yep , bumped into philps'y yesterday ,told me reg harding had passed away
regards
DR

Good bloke Reg. Those were the days in the Tally Ho!

 

[BN9 BHA]

Brighton white boy reggae band. Large mob from Edward St Flats were over thinking they'd give the Lewes yokels a shoe-ing. Back then Landport was a different place Das! (Windy was on the wrong end of a flying bottle!)

What year was this Smudge?