UK Decay

[paulrabjohn]

well i guess it's a question that needs asking. between everyone here i guess we saw a hell of a lot of uk decay performances. anyone care to nominate a best ever gig?

i certainly never saw a bad show. i reckon of the ones i saw the ones that really blew me away were ;

aylesbury summer 81 with killing joke (my first uk dk gig!)

leighton buzzard youth club

summer 82 zigzag club (with sex gang children)

penultimate show at klub foot.

hard to pick a best one. maybe the 2 london shows?

great times any other suggestions? p

[jay wolfendale]

personally, it was when they played the bossard hall in leighton bzzd, at ian lee's 21st birthday, getting him on stage and singing 'do you like ugg' the whole band were smiling, so was mad dave next to me and most of the audience. Oh happy days.

[guest]

without doubt the very last one they played at the clarenden

[werewolf]

other decay gigs to bear in mind!
All the gigs mentioned above were all UK gigs!

There were some crackers in mainland europe including the Berlin Music hall
View Flier {December 1980}
and
In Paris at the 'Rue de Cascade' (November 1982}
View flyer
Also there were some great gigs in the USA and Canada, including 'The Smiling Budha' in Vancouver.

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[Ian Lee]

There was a ban on punk bands (yawn) at The Bossard Hall, Leighton Buzzard- actually, in all probability at all of South Bedfordshire District Council's venues at the time- remember the riots at The Clash and then - not so much- Blondie gigs at the Queensway Hall ?)

So I used my 21st birthday party at the Bossard Hall on 24/10/80- actually 10 days after my birthday- as an opportunity to get UK Decay to play in Leighton Buzzard (The Birthday Party- yeah, Nick Cave and all- played at this venue the following June- their first UK gig outside of London). UK Decay were supported by The Statics, Red Star (aka This Dead Plaything), the Woburn Sands boys and the infamous Chronic Outbursts (their first gig ?) - so many bands wanted to play that night, it was difficult.... Very memorable, though. I have a few crappy photos of the night, and a sound recording on cassette taken from the mixing desk.

After the gig, UK Decay and entourage came back to my parents' house for sandwiches, etc ! Bizarre- but great - times !

The piano incident on this night is mentioned elewhere on this website- see LU7 PUNKS ?

Black Sheep Promotions, of which I was a part- we also produced the LB fanzine/news mag The Revolution Will Not Be Televised- hey, Gil Scott Herron, take a bow !- promoted UK Decay at Vandyke Road Youth Club, Leighton Buzzard, on 10/10/81- almost a year later from the Bossard Hall event. This time the support acts were Fictitious, Chronic Outbursts and The Condemned. Look for a ticket of this gig on this website !

The first and last UK Decay event in LB was back at the Bossard Hall- a proper gig this time, the 'punk ban' having been overturned, partly to our efforts (ahem)- on 19/10/82- another year later !- when the support acts were The Phallic Symbols and The Friction (what, no Chronic Outbursts ?)

[Tim Y]

I'm thinking that the youth club in Leighton was pretty cool and the first time I managed to get to a DK gig which was at some closing down wine bar event type thing (thanks to Dave Barr's encouragement! ... or was it Ian Lee's ...)

[Dennis]

I've just had a Flash-Back to the day I decided to hitch-hike from Luton to Haverford West (at least I think that is where it was) in Wales to see UK Decay.

I left home about 07:00 in the morning, still ripped from the night before with this big idea of going to the gig in Wales.

It must have been my lucky day, because only 3 lifts later (Thanks business woman in Capri, drunkish bloke in mini and Grimsby fish van driver!) I was walking into the gig with a bag of fish and chips in my hand, and meeting up with a few astonished faces - how the **** did you get here so quick - we've only just got here!

I can't remember much about the gig - too much beer probably.

Fortunately (thanks Spon), I was granted a lift back in the van. My job, to keep the drivers awake.

Dennis

[stevespon]

Hi Dennis
I vaguelly remember Haverford west, there was that and west runton pavillion, the 2 gigs at the end of very long roads.
cant actually remmember if i was driving or not, I sometimes did.
It seemed a really long journey about 250 miles i guess therefore i do recall being really astonished that some had taken the trouble to get there.
That must have been some epic journey, 3 rides and you can recall all the drivers, some memory.
It was a massive venue (a sports centre mebe) and we wondered if there would be sufficient numbers in such a remote and rural part to make it all worthwile. But these fears turned out to be groundless as the night wore on with hundreds arriving from all over Wales. Me recollections are a bit hazy as to our perfomance but i do rember chatting to a lot of folk that night.
Last year i was at a party in Wales and i met someone who had been to both the Haverford west and Warwickshire University gigs to see us and that he had really enjoyed them,
Anyway Dennis glad to have been of service in getting you home that night and thanks for keeping us awake

hope things are cool with you

S.Spon

[Gus65]

Great web-site, very nostalgic, brings back loads of memories. Went to loads of decay gigs, the first being Ian Lee's party and the last being...I can't really remember, although I didn't go to the last ever gig.

My family moved up from London in 1979 and it felt like cultural and social desert until I was introduced to the local scene.

Best gigs..Ian's birthday: also remember some really good gigs following the bands return from Germany winter/spring 1981 with the Trashers(...go and get pissed...we're still waiting for 19 hundred and eighty four)..
Hammersmith Clarendon, Dingwalls, Stevenage Bowers Lyon and the Rock Garden!!

Scariest Gigs..Bedford, Stevenage....short haired, farrow browed youths were in evidence at both shows.

Great days indeed, I'm not sure if the music stands up to scrutiny 20 years later, but I felt UK decay were essentially a live band.

Kind Regards to all .

[werewolf]

Hi Gus65
Someone who remmembers the 'Trashers'!
Georgio, 'Riff Raff'' and co, wonder if there is anyone else that recalls
them?
They turned up round Steve Harles ready for their UK gigs with UK Decay
in a 1950's Mercedes Benz...completly stacked up with their equipment
and belongings!
'Riff Raff' was a photographer for a Berlin news rag as well as 'moonlighting'
in a punk band. Gergio was an escaped Polish paratrooper(the Iron Curtain
was stiill in place in those days-Poland was behind it!) They were great fun
to be around and played several gigs if not a whole tour with 'Decay'.
We recently found a Trashers live tape from one of those shows.
Also its worth pointing out that 'Riff raff' took a bunch of photos that are
imortalised in the gallery click here to view the 1st in the series
Thanks and welcome Gus for taking the time to post here, we take your
point about the music not standing up to scrutiny ove time, thats fair
enough music is always subjective. 'Decay' were always more than just
the music anyway!
hope you will share more of your memories with us!


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