![]() Please note: Sham 69 have already been confirmed as one of the headliners for Rebellion Punk Music Festival 2015 in Blackpool/UK, the biggest Punk Festival in the world. Their latest album ‘Evolution Of Punk’ features live recordings from the Rebellion Punk Festival in 2013 and studio tracks. ![]() This left the crowd leaving on a high and gagging for more. Another three tracks followed with ‘One Faith’ and then ‘Hersham Boys’ and ‘Hurry Up Harry’. Nobody was going to leave the building without an encore. Some original fans of the band had brought teenage sons and daughters to witness tonight’s performance. The grown – ups were still united and long may it continue. ![]() It was a frenzy down the front and that’s how it continued until the boys finished the set with ‘If The Kids Are United’. The audience showed their full support by joining in with the lyrics. The set continued with ‘Money’ and ‘Questions and Answers’ then Sham 69 burst into ‘White Riot’ by The Clash. Another reminder of the sad world we are all living in. Jimmy Pursey made his thoughts known about how he felt when he wrote the song ‘Stockwell’ which reflects on the shooting of an innocent young man and how badly the case was handled at the time. It was also good to hear tracks from ‘That’s Life’ which is certainly an album which tells a story. The crowd went crazy for ‘Borstal Breakout’ which had become an anthem for the band. The evening brought people together for a very special treat. Seven of their singles hit the charts and scored positions in the UK best-selling singles charts while three of their albums had secured positions in the UK Top 30 which helped to make Sham 69 a success. Early songs and tracks from the first album ensured that everyone could sing along. A mixed set was put together which kept everybody happy. The exhilarating set kicked off with ‘What Have We Got’ which went down a storm and so of course did everything else which was to follow. The bonus tracks also include the extended mixes of Borstal Breakout and If The Kids Are. Highly skilled drummer Robin Guy joined three original Hersham Boys – Jimmy Pursey, Dave Treganna and Dave Parsons once again for another mesmerising performance. 8 hit single Hersham Boys and the No.18 Questions & Answers. Tonight they played to an appreciative crowd who had turned out in their droves to pack out the O2 Academy in Islington, London. Pursey’s Sham deliberately and professionally gives their punters what they want when they want it, and there’s f*ck all wrong with that.Who would have thought that nearly forty years on from that magical day when Sham 69 first formed in Hersham, Surrey that they would be able to take the stage again and play to a full house. Sham 69 will always be the name badly spray-painted on a suburban train station wall, and their timeless tunes reflect this moth-eaten underdog with sharp teeth spirit. ![]() At under sixty minutes, it’s a short sharp shock of a gig, but in fairness to the band, they wasted no stage time and used no (show) filler. Top ten smash ‘Hersham Boys’ punches the TOTP nostalgic sweet spot, whereas ‘Hurry Up Harry’ could raise the dead with its futile tea-time chorus and Punk ‘N’ Roll riff. A cover of ‘White Riot’ garners a raucous audience reaction before the double trouble anthem encore. The hits now flow as ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ see a few a pints get launched while ‘Questions And Answers’ remains a poetic clip round the ear of classic Sham. ‘George Davis Is Innocent’ is followed by a rollicking ‘Borstal Breakout’ and the perfect aural pocket-sized snapshot of Seventies teenage exasperation on ‘That’s Life’. The engaging frontman with a piercing stare holds court as ‘Ulster Boy’, ‘Rip Off’ and a speedy ‘Bastille Cake’ fly past. ![]() Sham 69 takes to the stage with little or no fanfare and launches into ‘What Have We Got’ with Jimmy Pursey leading the enthusiastic Friday night crowd through the chorus chant of “f*ck all”. The bar is jammed with mainly middle-aged men quaffing pints in tight Fred Perry’s and casual football clobber, plus the usual Fingers, Sparrer and Pistols T-shirts. Tonight it’s punk ‘n Oi! Heroes Sham 69 taking over the bustling Sub 89. The Sub 89, Readipop, South Streets Arts Centre, The Hexagon, The Purple Turtle and The Face Bar venues are all pushing a town made famous by biscuits back into the custard cream musical limelight. Reading is swiftly becoming a must-do stopover point for touring bands of a particular vintage, style and popularity. ![]()
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