SHAM 69 + INFA RIOT – ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON 22.1.22
Chances to see original punk acts are pretty rare these days, so I grabbed the chance to see the original line-up of Sham 69 with both hands. These guys are in their sixties so they’re going to be sad shadows of their former selves right? We shall see.
First off we have support band Infa Riot ( short for: in for a riot) to contend with. Infa-Riot were formed in 1980 and were part of the Oi! movement. This consisted of bands formed after the initial wave (or two) of punk, when the originators of punk had either split or moved on somewhat. Their call to arms was the slogan “punk’s not dead!”
Well, punk certainly isn’t dead, not while bands like this are alive and kicking. To be fair, they still give it some welly, and many of their key songs are present and correct: such as ‘The Winner’, ‘Catch-22’ and ‘Feel The Rage’. However, something isn’t right. Something’s missing. It’s the singer. Lee Wilson is there alright, at least in body anyway, but I suspect in his mind he’s far, far away, as Slade once sang. He does a fair bit of rabble-rousing, and there’s nothing at all wrong with his singing, but he just isn’t there. He looks bored, like he can’t wait to clock off. I believe this is called ‘going through the motions’. Maybe punk is a young man’s game after all. We shall see.
Tension noticeably mounts as it gets near Sham 69’s stage time. The band eventually appear and there’s a huge roar as Jimmy Pursey takes the stage. It’s quite clear that the audience have a genuine love for this band. You can feel it. It’s actually quite moving. They crash into the 1977 single ‘What Have We Got’, and Pursey looks genuinely angry, as if the sentiments from that song still apply today. It’s followed in short order by another single from the same year, ‘I Don’t Wanna’. Both of these singles were self-released, and are performed with a fire of which Sham would have been proud over forty years ago.
‘Rip Off’ from first album ‘Tell Us The Truth’ is blasted out with a vigour of which a band half Sham’s age would be pleased with. Honestly, this is the closest you can probably get to taking a time machine to 1977/78. Pursey, Parsons and Tregunna are in fine form. Only Dave Parsons has succumbed to accepting having grey hair. Jimmy Pursey and Dave Tregunna have defiantly dyed their hair. And why not? They carry it off with aplomb. Indeed, Jimmy Pursey doesn’t look a great deal different to how he was back in the day. I wonder if there’s a portrait in an attic somewhere?
It’s not all a 1977/78 nostalgia fest however. ‘Bastille Cake’ from 1993’s ‘Kings & Queens’ album gets an airing. Notwithstanding it’s release date, the song is resolutely punk. There’s barely a break between songs, with Pursey just having time to issue the odd gnomic one-liner before tearing into the next missive from the punk frontlines. For example, prior to ‘George Davis Is Innocent’, Pursey tells us “I love the people of Bristol”, which presumably is a reference to the disposal of the statue of the slave trader Colston.
Back in the day it was widely reckoned in some quarters that punks couldn’t play. I don’t think that was ever the case with Sham, and it certainly isn’t now! We get to the stage of the show where the hits start appearing: the title track from the ‘That’s Life’ album, ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’, ‘Questions & Answers’, and then there’s one that we really weren’t expecting. Pursey steps up to the mic and says “London? Punk? The Clash?” and they rip through The Clash’s ‘White Riot’. Although it’s a cover of someone else’s song, it really is a goosebump moment. It’s also indicative of how big-hearted Sham are. They didn’t have to play that song. But ultimately at heart, they’re fans of the music.
They rocket through ‘If The Kids Are United’ and that’s the main set over. They leave for about five minutes and come back for ‘Hersham Boys’ and ‘Hurry Up Harry’, and they’re gone again. Their whole set, including encores, has taken 45 minutes, but what a 45 minutes it has been. In terms of back-to-back brilliance this has been the most energetic set that I’ve seen since the Ramones in the mid 1980s. An utterly astounding performance. How do they do this at their seemingly advanced ages? I’m sure Duracell batteries must be involved.
So, is punk a young man’s game? Based on Sham 69’s performance tonight: absolutely definitely not. They still deliver, and they still mean it, maaaaaan.
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