UK Decay

[bard]

Try THe Swan Salford

[Smiles]

We came down from Coventry for that gig - after seeing DK support the Dk's at the Lanch Poly.

Me (I was known as spike in those days had tartan bondage & orville green fluffy bum flap etc.), Benny, Blucky & Oaks, we were in an old Ford Anglia. By the time we got to the gig the first support band had played & from memory I believe the Dark & Play Dead also supported, (not sure about Play Dead). Anyway from the moment we got in there was an adge to the atmosphere & there were LoSG skins everywhere pissed on Cider & giving it the large one, Seig Heiling to the DK's on the disco, oh the irony.

So when UK DK came on it was all set to kick off I you could tell that things were going to take a turn for the worst a few songs in & after for my country it just went mental, people storm the stage fights broke out & we fled first to the back of the room & then notice the behind stage/ dressing room door was opening & closing like a clam on heat, cymbols were flying everywhere, monitors falling general pandimonium.

Where hammered on the dressing room door & got told to fuck off, we shouted 'we're with the band lets us in' luckily the door opened & we took refuge in there. In the Chaos everyone but Spon had got it & soon everyone realised it was a Spizz Energi b side, 'Spon is missing' 'Where's Spon!'.

After the ruckus inside calmed down the Skins started on the cops & it wasn't safe to go until a good hour after. During this time we made friends with the band & the roadie 'Captain' who offerred to get us in free at the next gig, which I believe was Peterboro. On the way home we were stopped on the slip road to the M1 by the law who searched the car, not finding anything they could 'do' us for the last thing out of the boot was a football, on asking what this was for, Oaks replied with a straight face 'to play football with!' ' You trying to be funny son' etc etc after 1/4 of an hour they let us go.

As it was we made it to Bristol a few nights later & sure enough we were on the Guest list!

Broke & hungry we were well looked after & Beki Bondage bought me a pint!

Happy days, we saw the band again many times after that incldung the futurama gig which I taped on audio - I have it somewhere as well as a gig in Rhiemes - (all of Futurama 3 at Bingley which was videoed, someone should check this out).

I finally managed to get the Pnuemonia EP off the ebay posting mentioned earlier & have some snaps & promo posters somewhere. Will try & get these scanned as well as my UK Decay unwind tattoo! Benny still has his Abbo 'autograph' tattooed on his wrist.

Great website lads, thanks for the memories.

[werewolf]

Hi and welcome 'Smiles' to UK Decay communities

Yes thats a pretty good recollection of the night of the infamous
bedford riot you posted there!
Yes in these postings there is a picture emerging of the bedford
event that is beggining to sound interesting.
Although some of the versions told differ slightly (not suprising
really after 20 plus years) its amazing the details people have
actually remmembered!
We were a bit puzzled by this surreal moment tho...

[AntiMohican]

Phil Langham and the London posse were not too keen on becoming embroiled in the fracas as I recall

[AntiMohican]

[werewolf]

The Dark at Bedford
Welcome "AntiMohican"
Of course The Dark were at that infamous Bedford Gig!
I don't think anyone was keen on gettoing embroiled in that fracas!
I suspect Phil Langham and crew were 'safetly' tucked away in the dressing
room when it all kicked off!

or maybe it could have been 'Play Dead'??

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[Justin/Bedford]

I was still at school when I went to this gig but I remember it well. The atmosphere at all the Bunyan Centre gigs was one of suppressed violence, and it was more a case of when it was going to kick off. The band Play Dead were the first on, and more or less got an apathetic response. I went into the band area, and spoke briefly with the guitarist of The Dark, he was signing a copy of their single `Einsteins Brain`, and said `hmmm, this is real anarchy`. The Dark hit the stage and were incredible, they played a blistering set of storming fast, dynamic punk, heavilly influenced by The Damned, which was much appreciated by the large skinhead contingent at the front of the stage. The Dark played a punked up version of Hawaii - 5-0` which they released as their first single, which sold a credible 3000 copies. Everytime, there was break between songs, the Bedford Skinhead chant went up. Some were walking around with Union Jack stickers stuck on there foreheads, these were`nt small geezers, they were built like brick shit houses. Throughout the Dark set, there was violent moshing at the front, which at the time, was just normal behaviour. The Dark left the stage, and everyone was hanging around, my brother came over, and said watchout, I think its going to kick off tonight. A skinhead friend had told him that he was asked to bring a knife along. Uk Decay finally hit the stage, and their brand of post punk, low tempo, sweeping riffs was a stark contrast to the high tempo, punk bash of The Dark. It seemed almost as an anti climax. I was standing at the front of the stage and could see how the violence started. A guy at the front smashed his nose on the front of the stage, and blood poured from him. Aidan Stirling, wiped the blood up off the stage, and wiped it over his face and body. He then climbed onto the stage and started dancing to the left of the stage, by the PA. A bouncer ran up behind him, and shoved him off. This interaction between the bouncers and the skinheads increased in verbal exchanges. The next incident was what really kicked it all off, Abbo, had taken his belt off, and was swinging it around his head, I dont know if he hit anyone, or came close, but all of a sudden the skinheads jumped up on stage. A bouncer grabbed the mike stand , and was beckoning the skins on, fights broke out, on stage and off, I remember seeing the fear in the bass players eyes, as he tried to climb up an apparatus behind the drummer, still with bass in hand. I watched from the side as equipment was knocked about, and fists were thrown. It was strange, as it seemed almost quiet, I looked around, and the hall already seemed half empty. A skinhead jumped on stage, and did`nt seem to know what to do, a bouncer (these were big bouncers) fronted him, and he shrugged his shoulders and jumped off. My brother, came over and said we`d better go, but I wanted to stay and watch, so he dragged me out. We stood outside the venue, by a roundabout, people were milling around, not knowing what to do. Some guy, came up to us, and said something about Skinheads wrecking a Dead Kennedys gig he`d been to in Leicester recently. Soon, the sound of cop cars filled the night. By then I was going home. But the violence seened to escalate ten fold when the police turned up. A friend who stayed said that the Skinheads turned on the police, and over turned a police car. A friend of mind who was with the skinheads told me stories years later. He even has photos of the gig. They chased some punks from Oxford to a deserted house in Shakeaspeare Road, Bedford, and beat them up. They also got caught by the police on a railway line, and said its you or us, the police turned round and walked off. The next day it was on Anglia news, and made headlines in The Herald (now defunct) newspaper, `riot`. Members of The Condemned made T shirts out of it. Later gigs at the venue, were poorly attended, only a the odd skinhead was allowed in. The next band to play was Tenpole Tudor, and the gig was almost empty. I also went to the other UK Decay gig when they returned, it was a low key event, and I think by then everyone was staying away from Bedford gigs due to the threat of violence. The Bedford skins earned themselves a fearsome reputation, and regularly visited Aylesbury Friars. My mate said they went to gigs outside of Bedford, and everyone knew who they were. He said they went to a gig, and Mensi, from The Angelic Upstarts recognised them in the bar, and said `fucking Bedford Skins` at them. I remember reading a fanzine which interviewed The Dark. They admitted that they blew UK Decay off the stage, but said that Northampton was a better gig, as there was no violence. There are no skins in Bedford anymore. Most have left the town. Some i see that I recognise are drunks or druggies. Some are still about working as builders or roofers, the shaved hair, is more of a crop now. Some are grandads (yes, its that long ago). Even the punk gigs at Esquires has`nt brought them out, maybe one or two at best. I think at the time, there was alot of violence across the country with Skinheads, and I saw worse violence at other gigs , The Exploited at Brixton was one. On a diff note, my mate had a video of UK Decay playing the Luton Carnival, and there were fights breaking out, as Luton football casuals (wedge haircuts) kept steaming in from the back.

[Guest]

Hmm, so you were still at school, you thought the dark were a better band than ukdk, you watched the fight from the sidelines, you even admit to going to an exploited gig ? ..............!

[Justin/uk]

yeah, and I thought UK Decay were shit.

[jay wolfendale]

so what are you doing here then. Some of us have done well, some of us haven't, but we don't judge anyone on that, and certainly don't criticise people we don't know.