THEATRE OF HATE – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 12.6.25
The announcement of “Do You Believe In The Westworld? Presents Legion – IX A Very Special Warm Up Show” certainly got tongues wagging across the post-punk fraternity a few weeks back! Could ‘Legion IX’ really be who a number of folk were suggesting that it might be? Answer…it certainly was! A secret gig by none other than Kirk Brandon’s Theatre Of Hate which he originally formed back in 1980.
It’s fair to say that tonight’s secret concert at the iconic Prince Albert venue – which was originally a three-storey town house built in 1848 and was then converted into a pub in 1860 and has remained a watering hole ever since – was a warm-up set ahead of their forthcoming important set of dates for Kirk Brandon (lead vocals, guitar), Stan Stammers (bass, backing vocals), Clive Osborne (saxophone) and original Spear Of Destiny drummer Chris Bell (who interestingly has also on the stix for the Thompson Twins and Gene Loves Jezebel). The official concert dates kick off tomorrow in Amsterdam, before heading off to Stockholm, Berlin and the new Forever Now festival at Milton Keynes Bowl. After which the quartet will once again be heading out on a September UK tour, taking in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Brighton, London, Leeds and finally Bristol. Tickets for all of the forthcoming Theatre Of Hate concerts can be found HERE.
On entering The Prince Albert, it’s quite evident that word has spread regarding tonight’s performance and at the start of the Theatre Of Hate concert, the first floor concert room was rammed full. We are rewarded with a lengthy 93 minute performance comprising 19 tunes in total with 18 coming from their 1980 to 1982 period. This is quite a rarity these days as the band usually tend to dip into their later releases, but tonight it’s not the case. It’s just like the good old days then, with thankfully the omission of excessive pogoing and scary moshpits…we’re all getting on a bit!
Their intro tape blasts out at 9:02pm and as far as I could tell was quite possibly ‘Apocoloppola’ by Little Nobody. The venue door swings open and the quartet somehow squeeze past the eager punters to the stage. Already waiting for them is Kirk’s laminated maple Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Classic Single-Cut Orange guitar with Bigsby tremolo, Stan’s Fender Jaguar bass, Clive’s saxophone, and a drumkit for Chris. Without much fanfare at 9:04pm they break into ‘63’ from 1982’s ‘Westworld’ album, which was produced by none other than Mick Jones from The Clash. Thankfully we are based front-centre and see everything that’s occurring. I study Kirk’s guitar-playing and note that he’s plucking away atop the Gretsch FilterTron Bridge pickup and I believe this adds to the clarity of sound. One down and 18 to go and walking Cosh Boy clothing advert Stan pipes up and says “We are the Ninth Legion, Theatre Of Hate tribute band, I hope we can do them justice!”. Chuckles ring out across the room.
Next up it’s another cut from their ‘Westworld’ album, this being ‘Judgement Hymn’ and this is followed by the somewhat funky ‘My Own Invention’ which can be found on their 1981 ‘Rebel Without A Brain’ single. After a couple more cuts from ‘Westworld’ (‘The Wake’ and ‘Anniversary’), the quartet attempted the seldom played 1981 ‘Nero’ single. This begins OK with Stan’s bass intro sounding not too unlike Tubeway Army’s 1979 ‘It Must Have Been Years’ track, but then at around the halfway mark, it’s evident that they aren’t actually insync, and so Kirk calls a halt to proceedings, and rather than skipping onto the next selection, they give it another go. After all, this is a secret warm-up set, for the band to practice on us guinea pigs. It’s fair to state that at certain times this evening, the lads were occasionally a little rough and ready around the edges on some of the numbers, but after all, the tracks are coming at us with true punk ethics and not the perfect delivery of a 40 piece orchestra working on a film score! My colleague actually noted that this actually adds to the charm, and you can tell this via the glances exchanged between Stan and Kirk when the occasional note(s) go adrift.
After two more from ‘Westworld’ (‘The Klan’ and ‘Freaks’), it’s time for their 1982 ‘The Hop’ single, and then another couple from ‘Westworld’, ‘Conquistador’ with its excellent drumming and guitar interplay and then the less immediate ‘Love Is A Ghost’. Their classic ‘Legion’ single is up next, and this being my favourite Theatre Of Hate tune, but it wasn’t this evening, as this was still to come. It seems that at this point, the band were starting to take it up a notch and they were now becoming really at it, and so it was a joy for them to see out the main set with 1891’s ‘Rebel Without A Brain’ single, followed by a decent rendition of ‘Poppies’ which is from 1981 ‘Live At The Lyceum’ cassette, and then choice track ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’.
The lads put their instruments down and were obviously contemplating heading back out through the packed punters so that they could return and give us more. But seeing that this could be problematic, they simply picked up their instruments again and set about performing ‘Incinerator’ from their 1981 ‘Nero’ single.This was also particularly enjoyable with its pseudo-dancebeat akin to Killing Joke’s ‘Pssyche’. The classic ‘Original Sin’ was the quartet’s next selection and a track that is always welcomed in any Theatre Of Hate set. They then went onto play a mighty fine rendition of ‘Propaganda’ which can be located on their 1982 ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’ single. I just love Stan’s basswork during this number! After this the instruments get put down again and their manager encourages them to perform one more tune, which they oblige, but it’s a real surprise as they amazingly play the famed Harry J. All Stars 1969 hit ‘Liquidator’. A track which Kirk afterwards informed me they had played a couple of times before! I previously had a glance at the setlist on the stage and misread it as ‘Liberator’, so that was a pleasant surprise. At 10:35pm the lads took their applause and left the fans in rather happy moods. This wasn’t the best Theatre Of Hate gig I’ve been to down the years, and there’s been loads of them, but it was a real treat witnessing a set solely composed of oldies but goodies!
Theatre of Hate are next back in Brighton on Thursday 2nd October at the much larger Chalk venue. Find further details on this HERE and purchase your tickets HERE and HERE.
Theatre Of Hate:
Kirk Brandon – lead vocals, guitar
Stan Stammers – bass, backing vocals
Clive Osborne – saxophone
Chris Bell – drums
Theatre Of Hate setlist:
‘63’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Judgement Hymn’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘My Own Invention’ (from 1981 ‘Rebel Without A Brain’ single)
‘The Wake (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Anniversary’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Nero’ (aborted) (from 1981 ‘Nero’ single)
‘Nero’ (from 1981 ‘Nero’ single)
‘The Klan’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Freaks’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘The Hop’ (from 1982 ‘The Hop’ single)
‘Conquistador’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Love Is A Ghost’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
‘Legion’ (from 1980 ‘Original Sin’/’Legion’ single)
‘Rebel Without A Brain’ (from 1981 ‘Rebel Without A Brain’ single)
‘Poppies’ (from 1981 ‘Live At The Lyceum’ cassette)
‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’ (from 1982 ‘Westworld’ album)
(encore 1)
‘Incinerator’ (from 1981 ‘Nero’ single)
‘Original Sin’ (from 1980 ‘Original Sin’/’Legion’ single)
‘Propaganda’ (from 1982 ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld?’ single)
(encore 2)
‘Liquidator’ (Harry J. All Stars cover from 1969 ‘Liquidator’ album)
