I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I took photos there with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the cheapest, smallest and simplest camera available. In 2005, photo shops stopped developing and printing Instamatic films. That meant the end of photography forever for me and others for whom expensive cameras for which you needed a Sc.D degree were not an option.
There were many bands on various stages at the New Pop festival. I didn’t know at what time there would be what music on what stage. So, when I read the festival line-up now, to my big shame I missed Public Image Limited. It looks like I also very regrettably missed the punky ska girls the Bodysnatchers from England. However … Wikipedia says that the Bodysnatchers played their first concert in London in November 1979, so after Rotterdam New Pop! Someone made a mistake somewhere.
UPDATE: Rhoda Dakar, Bodysnatchers’ singer, has replied meanwhile. Thank you so much, Rhoda! The Bodysnatchers never played outside the UK. So at Rotterdam New Pop 1979 either no Bodysnatchers, or different snatchers snatching different bodies.
You could only make 12 photos with an Instamatic film. So, I had to be careful not to waste film.
I did hear Roger Chapman and the Shortlist. Roger Chapman was a nice chap, but the music was a bit predictable. I didn’t make photos.
I did make photos of Inner Circle, as also this one shows.
Inner Circle reggae band in Rotterdam September 1979
And I saw and heard the Cure and the Specials. About that, later.
This 16 June 2019 video from the USA says about itself:
The Linda Lindas are Mila (8), Eloise (11), Lucia (12), and Bela (14).
This 11 August 2019 is called The Linda Lindas – Linda Linda [LIVE]
You can see a bit in these videos that this band of enthusiastic preteen/teenage girl musicians were still learning then … but look at how fantastically they have progressed now that they are two years older! No more need for a guest bass player like in the top video etc.
This 21 May 2021 video is called The Linda Lindas – “Racist, Sexist Boy” (Live at LA Public Library).
Now 10-year-old drummer Mila drums and sings at the same time. Far from easy.
Official video of punk band, The Linda Lindas, performing a mashup cover of Bikini Kill’s Rebel Girl and The Muffs’ Big Mouth in Moxie 🖤★
Look at that audience, like a sea on a stormy day. Many of them girls in their early teens. A bit reminiscent of this concert in 1980. Some writings depict that age group as stupid musically, incapable of anything but screaming and swooning as manufactured boring boy bands perform. That may be true for some individuals. But it was not true for the whole category in 1980, and it is not true now.
This 22 May 2021 video says about itself:
Teen punk rockers, The Linda Lindas, are going viral with their original song “Racist Sexist Boy.”
This 13 November 2020 music video from England says about itself:
Form Square is the lead single from The Mistakes upcoming LP “A head full of damage”. Featuring Charlie Harper of The UK Subs.
So, Charlie Harper recently not only recorded new music for the UK Subs. He not only made a solo 7″. He not only played harmonica with Brighton all-girl band the Ramonas. He also played harmonica with this band from Poole in Dorset, the Mistakes. With a photo of Paul Simonon of the Clash in the background of the video.
The song is about standing strong in difficult situations.
The Mistakes call themselves ‘punk rock and roll with a ska influence.’ You can hear that influence in the song Form Square.
So, what is the relationship between ska and punk?
In the 1960s there was the first international wave of ska, with Millie Small and other Jamaican musicians.
In Jamaica, it became an influence on reggae. In the 1970s, there came mutual influence between ska and punk bands in Britain and elsewhere.
Like one can hear in Brighton band the Piranhas.
This live video is called Cheap ‘N’ Nasty | The Piranhas | The Prince Albert, Brighton | 30/03/2019.
The song was first recorded much earlier, in 1979.
The Piranhas then became an influence on the bass player/female vocalist of Dutch Cheap ‘n’ Nasty, named after the Piranhas song.
You can hear some ska influence in the Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Covergirl EP, with four songs written by her. Not in the first song, Covergirl. In the second song, Unknown.
This video has all four songs of the Covergirl EP.
And today, there is still ska influence in British punk bands. As not only the Mistakes show. Also this video by Smiley & The Underclass.
This 2020 video is called Smiley & The Underclass – We All Get Like This (Official Music Video). This London band has also played outside Britain, eg, in Germany and Japan.
Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants – “Live@Rebellion Festival”
Winter Gardens, Blackpool. August 3, 2019.
That was the last Rebellion festival before the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 edition has been postponed to August 2022.
Alvin Gibbs is best known as bass player in the UK Subs: 1980–1983, 1988, 1996, 1999–2002, 2003–present. Talking about the UK Subs: today, 24 May, is Charlie Harper’s birthday.
This photo shows Alvin Gibbs and the Disobedient Servants. Band live photo credit Andy Luckett.
The band that, like also, eg, the UK Subs, played at the 2019 Rebellion festival. And the band which now has released a new EP. Simultaneously with the new record by UK Subs singer Charlie Harper.
The Disobedient Servants are: Alvin on bass and vocals, UK Subs drummer Jamie Oliver (not the cook) and Ruts DC guitarist Leigh Heggarty.
The new EP is called State of Grace. Gaye Black (aka Gaye Advert) designed the sleeve.
The three songs on it are: ‘State Of Grace’, ‘Too Bad She’s In Love’, and ‘Brother, Sister’.
The first two songs are about somewhat problematic relationships.
In State of Grace, the guitar sounds out. Alvin’s voice clearly sounds well, though different from Charlie Harper.
Too Bad She’s In Love is a faster song than State of Grace. You can hear Alvin’s bass prominently.
While the third song, like Charlie Harper’s new song Panic,is about grave world problems.
In September 1980, the UK Subs played in Venlo, the Netherlands. The Pinkpop organisation refused to pay to have a support band. Then, Subs singer Charlie Harper paid out of his own pocket for the petrol of the small car of the bass player/female vocalist of Dutch band Cheap ‘n’ Nasty, so they could come to Venlo to play.
Next year, 1981, UK Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs wanted to buy the first copy of the Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Covergirl EP. It happened.
Talking about recently. Just after the live London videos on the top of this blog post were recorded, the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of deaths. More millions with permanent brain or permanent lung damage.
There are a few bright spots.
In some places, wildlife benefited from lockdowns. In New Zealand, only 25 people died. Concerts with 50,000 people without anyone catching COVD-19 are again possible there.
More bright spots: Captain Sensible of the Damned predicted that after the pandemic, it would turn out that many musicians had written good songs during lockdowns.
That is becoming apparent already. As the UK Subs have recorded new songs. Some for their new LP, Reverse Engineering. It will be out later this year. An album with twelve songs, three by each of the four band members.
This blog post is about the new 7″ solo single by Charlie Harper. Charlie designed the sleeve himself. Originally, the songs were intended to go with Charlie’s autobiography. As that book was delayed, they are released now.
There are two songs on it. Panic, and Post War Punks.
The people playing on it are, on Panic:
Charlie Harper – Vocals
Marlon Payne – Guitar & Piano
Victoria Smith – Bass
Marley Perez – Drums
Victoria Smith is also special. She is the bass player of the Ramonas. And also a bass teacher. Clara Wiseman, a woman teaching music, has played bass for the UK Subs before. But as far as I know, this is the first time that a specialised bass teacher plays on a Charlie Harper record.
Victoria Smith
On Post War Punks the line-up of ‘Charlie Harper & The Sub Machine’ is the same, except that Bram Payne, Marlon’s brother, plays bass instead of Victoria Smith.
Let us look at the two songs. First, Panic.
The music reminds me a bit of one of my favourite songs, Melody Lee by the Damned. At first, a piano. Is this going to be classical music or something? Then, unexpectedly, the snare drum and other instruments and the vocals come, making it a real punk song.
Charlie names young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg as an inspiration for this song. You can hear that in the lyrics, which are about threatening climate catastrophe ‘for God and greed’. How religious fundamentalists and short-sighted Big Businessmen in Big Oil etc. ruin the environment, and how everyone suffers from that. There is a certain similarity to the 2020 Damned song about the threat of bees becoming extinct.
The next song, Post War Punks, right from the start, leaves no doubt about being punk. It mentions ‘Post war punks eating post punk sandwiches’.
Maybe Charlie on this photo eats a post punk sandwich.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 