UK Decay

[werewolf]

online Gambling & poll

[Neil]

Does anyone know the actual date of the Bedford gig in question? The press cutting on the site of the trial suggests it was May 1981 - but I would like to know the full date if possible. Reason is I am still writing up something about the Luton riot in July 1981 and some of the other stuff leading up to it.

On Saturday 16th May 1981 I was involved in a Luton Youth Movement 'march against racist attacks'. It ended up with a rally at the Town Hall which got charged at by about 30 skinheads Sieg Heiling. Later that afternoon, the same group attacked an Asian woman and two children in Pomfret Avenue. I think the skinhead scene was pretty much a Bedfordshire-wide scene, so I wondered whether some of the same people were involved or even whether it was on the same night.

[paulrabjohn]

(taken from a clipping from the NME 16.5.81 , ironically enough , somebody sent me an ad for the tour years ago and wrote the date on the bottom). the tour was ;

14th may leeds warehouse
15th may retford porterhouse
16th may bedford bunyan centre (great day for the skins )
17th may cheltenham eves centre
18th may bristol granary
19th may london venue
20th may manchester mayflower
21st may preston warehouse
22nd may scarborough taboo
23rd may middlesborough rock garden

uk decay 12" version unexpected guest fresh 26/12
plus special guests play dead and the dark"

reason i got sent this was i was discussing the legendary unexpected guest 12" with someone , pondering whether it existed , so he sent me the clipping to prove it did. actually i think it never existed but you can see why people got fooled.

credit to the lads for doing 10 gigs in 10 days without a day off. hardest working band in show business

seriously , i grew up going to gigs in the home counties and keeping an eye out for skinheads tended to be a good idea. it was really odd coming up to birmingham to live in 82 and not having all the punch ups going off that i'd got used to. fun times. p

[paulrabjohn]

(taken from a clipping from the NME 16.5.81 , ironically enough , somebody sent me an ad for the tour years ago and wrote the date on the bottom). the tour was ;

14th may leeds warehouse
15th may retford porterhouse
16th may bedford bunyan centre (great day for the skins )
17th may cheltenham eves centre
18th may bristol granary
19th may london venue
20th may manchester mayflower
21st may preston warehouse
22nd may scarborough taboo
23rd may middlesborough rock garden

uk decay 12" version unexpected guest fresh 26/12
plus special guests play dead and the dark"

reason i got sent this was i was discussing the legendary unexpected guest 12" with someone , pondering whether it existed , so he sent me the clipping to prove it did. actually i think it never existed but you can see why people got fooled.

credit to the lads for doing 10 gigs in 10 days without a day off. hardest working band in show business

seriously , i grew up going to gigs in the home counties and keeping an eye out for skinheads tended to be a good idea. it was really odd coming up to birmingham to live in 82 and not having all the punch ups going off that i'd got used to. fun times. p

[Baby Ray]

Even years later and after UkDk split there was still trouble with Bedford skins. About 1985/6 The Party Girls played the Bedford Boys Club with Spon doing the sound and Pete Bauhaus doing the lights. That night also coinicided with some of the skins getting out of prison or something and they ended up at the venue and started all over again. All I can remember is being stuck in a corner with Pete using cymbal stands to fend them off and then Spon suddenly appearing from nowhere and decking two of them almost instantaeously - amazing, what a bloke!

[Jayne County]

hey, I really hate your site, do not click on the link below

www.ukdecay.com

[dottie]

Bloody Bedford skins were only hard when there were a dozen off them picking on the young defenseless. Had many a tussle with the shaven headed bullies. Aylesbury Friars, Northampton Roadmenders, London Lyceum. Mind you they must have had good taste in music to be there in the first place seeing bands like UK DK, Killing Joke and Discharge etc. Pretty sad to hear they're still doing the same thing though.

OMM

[aidan]

what a small world
typed in the uk dk and came here. my name is aidan sterling and i was involved in the bunyan centre riot,and as you might imagine i remember things differently to many on here.
firstly the reason we went to see dk is because most of us thought them a brilliant band,i had seen them in luton and n'mton and was very impressed. the atmosphere that night was always on edge ,i think due to half truths and rumour.we were really looking forward to the gig although we had two phone calls to the pub the pilgrims saying luton punks were coming in force to sort us out and the night before one of the lads we drank with had been stabbed by a bouncer we knew to be working that night at the bunyan centre.
olenty of the skins were well into their music and many wernt just wanted to fight .i fell between the two stools.
many skins were out and out nazis in bedford many were not. everyone their knows what happend ,and the dark were ist class,from my own personal point of view the match that set things off was when abbo came on stage swinging his belt and said'everyone knows shaven heads and big boots are just a cover up for you know what'' i got on stage to confront the bouncer who stabbed my mate.what happend then is old news.the police came in massive no's and we knew there was no way out so decided to go the whole hog and confront them.
at court 11 skins got sent down and 11 police men taken to hospital. some folk have mentioned cowards in gangs in some cases that has been the case. many of those lads however could more than hold there own with when well outnumberd.
i didn come on here to rake up old coals it happend a long time ago and what is done is done.
for myself i hope that no lasting damage was done to any fans who attended and that ukdk are all well and sound,.
for myself i have a loving family ,am happy and well ,and those days are
just a distant memory.
after prison i left bedford and rarely return,its yesterdays news, im 46 yrs old and dont belive on looking back.

hawaii 5 0 .still fucking love it.

[blink poker]

aiden,
did you sing for a while in a band called the feckin' igits or am i getting you miixed up with another of the bedford skins..if so i saw you supporting the pogues at friars and i musy say i was quite impressed..its just your name rings a bell...
_________________
gimme some of that rock'n'roll
the kinda stuff that don't save souls

[aidan]

fraid to say that fella shouting on stage was me,did 11 yrs with a ska outfit called the riffs as well.