6/4/2023 Vive Le Rock Awards @ Shepherds Bush Empire

This is one of those nights when everyone seems to be here. Well nearly anyway - I bumped into loads of friends. 😀 There is a snag though - it's a Thursday night. 😒  This is all well and good for all the music industry pros living in London, but the 6 o'clock start time means those of us with a normal day job haven't a hope in Hell in getting there in time to see the first few acts. I know I have been banging on about Thursday Night being 'the new Friday Night' a few times recently, but on a normal Thursday I can usually make it to gigs in Camden or Islington and only miss the first band on the bill of 3 or 4. It takes longer for me to get to Shepherd's Bush so I miss some things I want to see like Millie Manders who I've been wanting to see for a while, and Kim and Jackie from Girlschool performing a tribute to their late friend the much missed Lemmy. 

Beki Bondage from UK punk legends Vice Squad is presenting the Vive Le Rock magazine award ceremony itself as well as fronting the Vive Le Rockers all star band. Unfortunately I miss all this and only arrive in time to catch London punk legends Cockney Rejects. I always found the whole violent thuggish football hooligan and 'Oi' thing very unappealing  - not my scene man - I'm just into music. So I never bought into that whole herd mentality football thing. Or the Street Punk scene either, even though I was once in a band who were described as 'Street Punk'. But the Cockney Rejects latest album Power Grab has been getting good press in Vive Le Rock and heads in a more hard/classic rock direction as the band pay tribute to their earlier influences. So I was interested in finally checking them out.

I have to be honest and say I was underwhelmed. The band didn't give the impression of being well rehearsed and seemed to be just going through the motions. No songs made any real impression on me - there was little if any stage presence, and their singer's shtick seeming to consist entirely of prancing around the stage as if he was sparring in a boxing ring. I know they have played at many large festivals, but the band looked like they would be more at home playing in a pub than on a large stage. I was looking forward to seeing them and hoping they could win me over, but there was nothing here in their short 3 song set that made me want to see them again.

Things took a big step upwards when Neville Staple and band took to the stage. This was far more lively than the previous act. Assisted by his wife Sugary Staple on backing vocal/dancing duties this was very much a celebration of the 2 Tone scene. Regular readers might be surprised to know that The Beat and The Selecter can be found in my record collection. Inexplicably, there is nothing in my collection by The Specials who I also liked back in those days. Needless to say, the songs of The Specials feature heavily in Neville Staple's set, and the songs of his former band are performed in a very lively and thoroughly enjoyable manner!

 

If anybody came to Shepherd's Bush tonight wanting to dance - this was the time to do it! There is something about Ska music that is very uplifting - it's just such happy music that makes you want to move and it never fails to lift my mood. The Maytals classic 'Monkey Man' is a song that always goes down well, as does 'Rudy A Message To You', and needless to say 'Gangsters' and The Specials classic 'Ghost Town' go down a storm before the closer 'Long Shot Kick De Bucket' originally by The Pioneers.

The final act of the evening is a bit special. This is a strictly one-off performance by punk/goth legends Lords of the New Church. Only two original members of the band feature tonght - ex-Damned guitarist and founder member Brian James and ex-Shan 69 bassist Dave Tregunna. Original Lords singer and previous Dead Boys vocalist Stiv Bators died in 1990 - so for one night only his place is being taken by ex-Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe. This is a very good choice! 

Brian James health seems to have improved since his recent temporary return to The Damned for their few original lineup reformation shows. Dave Tregunna has been busy playing in many bands since he was last in Lords of the New Church and seems to have remained match fit. Michael Monroe meantime has had a successful career with his solo band solo band who have done many albums and tours  since Hanoi Rocks split for the final time. He remains one of the best frontmen out there and as well as his full-on super glamorous rock star image he manages to maintain an incredible energy level for every show he performs - he is like a punk/glam rock version of Mick Jagger!

Sadly it was only a short seven song set, but that was all that time allowed on this busy evening. Even though there were only two original members of the band on stage this still felt like a historic performance - behind the drum kit was original Clash  drummer Terry Chimes. Opening with 'New Church' the irrepressible Mr Monroe burst onto the stage and let rip! The set also included the classic 'Russian Roulette', and 'Method To My Madness' (I still have that T-shirt bought when the old band played at the Electric Ballroom) before Brian James old Damned bandmate takes to the drums for a blast though the song that arguably started it all - 'New Rose'. There is time for one encore song - 'Pills', the song originally by Bo Diddley but probably better known to most in the crowd from being covered by the legendary New York Dolls.