Generation X

12th April, 1978. Brighton. What can I say about Billy Idol? He was a punk rocker who was trying too hard. We couldn't really take him seriously with his peroxide hair and bike chains. He pulled the same sneer as Sid Vicious, but on him it looked ridiculous. There was an extremely rowdy crowd in the Top Rank, which seemed to consist of a lot of football supporters. Ready, steady, go - as Generation X hit the stage, Billy Idol was showered with glasses and beer. He immediately retreated, to be replaced by one of his entourage, pleading with the crowd not to throw stuff at the stage. The football chanting crowd greeted this with jeers and yet more glasses and liquid. Eventually, the not-so-hard singer sheepishly reappeared and played quite a good set, although their songs didn't really appeal to the hardcore punk fans. The football chanting contingent however appeared to enjoy it. The aggressive atmosphere meant that I watched this show from the balcony; it was a wise decision.
Generation X

Bunch of Stiffs Tour

October 19th, 1977 and a Bunch of Stiffs tour hits Brighton. (Wonderful to see the documentary on Stiff records on Channel 4 recently. ) There were really two headline acts at this show, namely Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. But for me, these two were a little too polished. Wreckless Eric was already playing when I got there, but immediately captured my attention with his strange songs. However the other Stiffs were just pale imitations of the real star that was Ian Dury. I couldn't understand why he moved the way he did, or why he held the mike the way he did. He was so strange! What was he on? He wore a tweed jacket and cap and draped his scarves around the mike stand. We tried not to look at the veins in his neck but it was hard to look away. He was clearly older than the other Stiffs and his music was a sort of cockney alternative punk. But, he was such a fantastic performer and effortlessly captured the somewhat aggressive audience. Elvis Costello, although gawky and strange looking in his own right, failed with his music to carry on where Dury left off. This was a great evening to showcase Stiff records artists and although Costello went on to become the most commercially successful, it was Ian Dury who brought the house down in Brighton.

Stiff records