31/8/2019 The Hollywood Brats @ Nell's

It's not every day you get a chance to see the infamous Hollywood Brats - in fact no one has had a chance to see them for over 40 years - so tonight's gig is rather special. They were possibly the best band you have never heard of, and effectively were punk several years before anybody had ever heard of punk rock due to their uncompromising snotty attitude, and dirty raw sound - contrasting with their sleazy Glam Rock look. They were undoubtedly ahead of their time and had burned out before the punk explosion in 1976, although some of their members became instrumental in the earliest days of that scene. Now, for one night at least - they are back. The venue is Nell's Jazz & Blues an upmarket West Kensington joint that is not these days used to hosting sleazy rock bands - although things were different it's it's earlier life as the West One Four club and even before that...

However, first tonight we get a set from The Vulz. They are a London band who play very 1970's style early punk rock.

If you like that sort of stuff they have some good tunes and are well worth checking out. Their lead guitarist Gary Pearce has also been seen recently playing bass with the Bermondsey Joyriders.

Not surprisingly, this gig is sold out in advance. The infamous Hollywood Brats may never have 'made it', but they have become legendary in the UK's underground rock 'n' roll scene. They were definitely a band ahead of their time. If they had just appeared a few years later things might have been very different, but in the early to mid 1970's the world just wasn't ready for them. Maybe it still isn't, but their intrepid frontman Andrew Matheson has reformed the band around three core original members - along with some new recruits to make up the numbers. Still out to impress, the singer is by far the best dressed man in the room.

In the mid-1970's the band became masters of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with a mixture of self inflicted disaster and incredibly bad luck - they mixed with the stars but remained in the gutter. They managed to record one album, but although it contained some great songs it wasn't released until years after the band had gone their separate ways. But that's another story - if you want to know more then read Andrew Matheson's fantastic book Sick On You which tells the band's story in a tragic and hilarious way - easily one of the best rock books I've ever read.

Members of the band became influential in the earliest days of the London punk scene, but by then the Hollywood Brats had already split up. Keyboardist Casino Steel went on to join early punk rockers The Boys while guitarist Brady formed the infamous London SS along with others who would later appear in The Damned, Generation X, and The Clash. The band never got as far as recording anything or even playing a gig although they provided a vital springboard for the yet to be discovered punk scene. In more recent years Brady has reformed London SS with a new lineup who have actually made an EP and played shows. Meanwhile, Andrew Matheson made a couple of solo albums before vanishing into obscurity. Until now.

With the publication of the brilliant 'Sick On You' book and the release of an expanded double CD version of the band's only album there is now new interest in the Hollywood Brats - and their singer has decided it's time to cash in on this fact while all the members are still alive. So Casino Steel has been found, and Brady dragged away from the pubs and clubs of Camden. It's actually a miracle that Brady is still alive considering his past habits and current liking for a drink. Although the band only ever had one guitarist, tonight a second one has been brought in 'just in case' - and I'm told the unpredictable Brady is apparently under strict instructions not to drink before the show. Apparently (and amazingly) he sticks to this. However, it seems that someone doesn't trust the hapless guitarist not to fuck up - and whoever is on the mixing desk appears to have been instructed to keep Brady's guitar way down in the mix and boost the 'standby' guitarist. This doesn't appear to be necessary as the legendary Irish boozer seems to be in good shape and playing well as far as we can tell. I actually feel quite sorry for him as the other guitarist overplays and steals Brady's limelight throughout the set. Seeing (and hearing) the band's original guitarist perform was one of the main things I was paying for, and I definitely wasn't the only one to be disappointed with the sound mix for this reason.

The setlist is predictably most of the band's one and only abum, but there are a handful of great songs on there. No soppy ballads or any crap like that - it's full on dirty sleazy rock 'n roll. All the 'classics' are there - 'Courtesan', 'Another School Day', 'Chez Maximes', 'Tumble With Me', and of course 'Sick On You' get an airing - the latter two also having been covered on The Boys first album. As well as the three new 'guest' members of the band on guitar, bass, and drums - another figure joined them on stage towards the end of the set. A scruffy but rather familiar figure.

Yes, it's none other than Bob Geldoff. The Boomtown Rats singer has been a vocal Hollywood Brats fan - saying of their album "Proper, true rock 'n' roll. The music is magnificent". Tonight he joins the band for a song that didn't make it onto the album - a cover of The Kinks 'I Need You'. This song does actually appear on the recent expanded edition of the album along with some other out takes, covers, and rough and ready live recordings.

Well it's certainly been quite a night. The club is packed, the atmosphere electric, and it seems everyone is there - all the familiar faces and musos from London's underground rock 'n' roll scene. It really feels like we have been at something special - an event. For most the people present it is their first, only, and probably last chance to see these underground legends.