Those that were there know how good the Rimini punks Smalltown Tigers were when they took The Prince Albert by storm last month and now they have announced that they will be making a return from Italy to play live again. The date has been set for Saturday 10th February 2024 and the event has been organised by ‘An Alternative Gathering’ who are purveyors of the punk rock genre.
The Smalltown Tigers originally started out playing squat clubs and beach parties, before scooping the support slots for the likes of Hagar The Womb, Baby Shakes, The Menstrual Cramps and The Speedways. The all girl trio consists of Valli on lead vocals and bass guitar, Monty on guitar and backing vocals, and Castel on drums and backing vocals.
The Smalltown Tigers have made inroads on the Euro garage-punk scene having initially dropped their debut single ‘Just Friends’ which was then followed by their 8 song mini-album ‘Five Things’ which came out just in time for the first Covid lockdown in spring 2020. Check out their tracks on their Bandcamp page HERE.
The band came about as Valli and Monty played together in another band called ‘Rockaway Bitches’ which was a Ramones tribute, which is still resurrected from time to time. Castel has three bands that she plays with… a sort of international drummer ensemble from all over the world called Drumatica, an all-female hard rock/metal cover band called Whiskey Wives and a pop-rock project in the Italian idiom called Le Figurine.
The Smalltown Tigers were selected as the opening act for the original lineup of The Damned when they got it back together last year and played the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on 28th October 2022. The Damned that day was Dave Vanian (vocals), Captain Sensible (bass, backing vocals), Rat Scabies (drums), and they were assisted by Mike Smith (on saxophone), and not forgetting the guy whose idea it was to start The Damned Brian James (on guitar). Read our review of that night HERE. Clearly Brian James enjoyed the Smalltown Tigers as he took time out from his schedule to see the girls in action when they played at The Prince Albert on 10th September 2023.
Also on the bill that day at The Albert were local five-piece Rottweiler who have been on the case since the tailend of last year, when they all met at WaterBear College Of Music in Brighton. The band consists of Geo Lane (vocals), Willow Simpson (lead guitar), Emia Demir (rhythm guitar), Matthew Sherren (bass) and Ben Foley (drums). They too will be returning to The Albert on Saturday 10th February.
Completing the lineup for 10th February will be Healthy Junkies who played The Prince Albert on 10th April 2022. The band are Nina Courson (vocals), Phil Honey-Jones (guitar), Oleg Liubchivschi (bass) and Tony Alda (drums). Healthy Junkies came into being when French born vocalist Nina Courson, who after running away from home in Paris in order to pursue her music career, met guitarist Honey-Jones at a Soho gig called ‘PUNK’ in 2009. They formed the Healthy Junkies and are now all located in London where they specialise in a cross genre mix of Punk Rock with Grunge, Psychedelic Rock, New Wave, Garage, Glam and Goth Rock.
Tickets for the 10th February 2024 concert are on sales now and can be purchased HERE.
linktr.ee/smalltowntigers
www.healthyjunkies.co.uk
linktr.ee/rottweiler.band
