After a fantastic opening day at Rebellion Punk Music Festival, Punktuation's Herman de Tollenaere and Ruth Rae are back for more great music on day two.
In the heart of a sunny Blackpool, even more punk enthusiasts from all corners of the UK and beyond gather for the ultimate punk pilgrimage. It’s day two of the Rebellion Punk Music Festival, and it’s getting hotter!
This four-day extravaganza boasts an impressive lineup of over 300 punk and alternative groups performing across seven electrifying stages. And in the midst of this punk paradise, Punktuation’s very own Herman de Tollenaere and Ruth Rae have taken it upon themselves to capture the essence of Rebellion Festival 2024. Armed with their passion for music and with their notebooks in hand, they are on a mission to bring you all the highlights of this annual punk spectacular.
Day two - Herman de Tollenaere's Report
Up to the Literary Stage, where Ralph Harris interviewed Zoë Howe, music biographer, screenwriter and novelist, whose books span music, culture and the occult. Amongst Zoë’s written works are books on Stevie Nicks, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Jam, Dr Feelgood and ‘Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits‘: the first full-scale biography of a female group. Zoë had not found any books on the Slits, So, she had to write one herself. ‘The cover of the Slits album was sensational. It was blamed for causing car crashes’, Zoë said. Zoë was also part of the core team behind award-winning documentary ‘Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché’.
Venturing to the main stage for Maid of Ace, hard rockin’ hooligans from Hastings! These four sisters were already a big success in a smaller Winter Gardens hall during Rebellion 2022, and, recently, in the London Wembley Stadium opening for Green Day. What a great combination: Alison’s characteristic raw voice, Alison’s and Anna’s guitars playing so well together, Amy’s bass, and their own ‘Goddess of Thunder’ Abby on drums. Next to me in the front row, a mother with her arms around her preteen daughter: a daughter who intended to found her own punk band. Behind me, Chinese punk women Dummy Toys pogoed. The full Empress Ballroom immensely enjoyed Maid of Ace,
Back to the Literary Stage for three great women; Michelle Brigandage, singer of the recently reformed band Brigandage and punk clothes label Sexy Hooligans designer. Michelle was the first person in the queue at the 100 Club Punk Rock Festival in September 1976. Rebellion 2024 had been the third gig of the new Brigandage line-up. Michelle: ‘Punk meant that I wasn’t an outsider anymore’.
This was followed by Pauline Murray, interviewed by Helen McCookerybook. Pauline founded Penetration, one of few punk bands (with Ivy Green from the Netherlands) from a village. They were then the only punk band in North East England. Today, she helps musicians recording songs. Helen told me: ‘Whenever Pauline sings a Penetration song, she becomes a teenage punk again’.
The Almost Acoustic Stage hosts a surprising diversity of acts; today I climbed the stairs to the Spanish Hall, to hear the set of UK Subs legend Charlie Harper. Ever since 1976, he has kept the Subs going. Every now and then, he does solo projects. Like his Almost Acoustic set at Rebellion 2023, when he played Streets of London. This year, he played his first song, I Live In A Car, on a three-string guitar. The next ones were with six strings. What a strong voice Charlie has!
Immediately afterwards Pauline Murray, fresh from her interview on the Literary Stage, perfromed an acoustic set. She had a broken wrist. So she only sang, with Paul and Steve on acoustic guitars. Penetration and Invisible Girls songs. Everyone sang along with ‘Don’t Dictate’. She finished with ‘The Beat Goes On‘.
Taking over for the ‘After Dark’ evening run on the Pavilion Stage, Aoife Destruction, singer of Irish punk band Paranoid Visions (originally founded in 1981) was first on. They have played with Steve Ignorant‘s band, Aoife sometimes joining Steve on stage to sing ‘Do They Owe Us A Living‘. Aoife is a pre-Christian Irish name, often incorrectly translated as ‘Eve’. Aoife’s stage name alludes to ‘Eve Of Destruction‘, a 1965 Barry MacGuire song, later, in 1991 a science fiction film, with Dutch Renée Soutendijk in the title role as a destructive robot.
Here at Rebellion, Aoife wore a blue dress while singing in a loud strong voice. Her band were five men: one on vocals, two guitar, one bass, one drums. Their fast fun punk reminded me of the Rezillos.
Day two - Ruth Rae's Report
Friday was a gentler start to my day with Menace on the Almost Acoustic stage – although ‘gentle’ isn’t usually a word associated with these mighty London punks.. More of a nod to acoustic, with only Simon using a solitary snare drum, while the rest were fully electric, bolstered by the man who brought three members of the band in – “Our recruitment manager” said Noel – Leigh Heggarty on guitar. The heat in the Spanish Hall made for a rather more subdued performance than usual, but it was good to hear ‘Carry No Banners’ alongside the old favourites, and we all joined in to sing ‘GLC‘.
I’m on a mission to see some newer and younger bands this year, so headed to the Introducing Stage to catch high octane Brazilian punks Anti-Virus. Their first time playing outside Brazil, they brought a sound that thumps you in the chest, with crazy guitar solos and a Duracell powered singer! These guys play like they really mean it – 100mph punk rock. Going by the age range in the crowd, they have universal appeal. If you couldn’t make it to Rebellion, you’d do well to come and see Anti-Virus play at the iconic Hope & Anchor in London next Wednesday 7th August with Change Persona – tickets HERE!
Harlow’s original punks and writers of the (in)famous ‘Kick Out The Tories’ Newtown Neurotics were making a rare live appearance, so of course I had to be there! Kicking off with their brilliant updated version of ‘Kick Out The Tories‘, that went down very well with crowd. It was good to hear ‘Fools‘ back in the set, which hasn’t been played for a long time, plus an absolutely kick-arse ‘Hypocrite‘. Singer and guitarist Steve Drewett proudly announced to the crowd “We’re an anti-fascist band and always will be!” which raised many cheers. For a band who don’t often play these days, they can certainly put together a tight set.
Another musician who always makes Rebellion for me, punk balladeer Jess Silk. Her songs are gripping, emotional and so very relatable, sung by the very down-to-earth Jess, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. Gathering one of the biggest audiences for an acoustic show, and longest lines of people around the room with arms around each other’s shoulders singing to ‘If Home Is Where The Heart Is‘, you could feel the cameraderie and love fill the space. Jess’s voice gets better and better and is as powerful as her lyrics.
Johnny Moped haven’t been able to play for a while, as their great leader and frontman had been suffering with ill-health.. undaunted, the band released their new album ‘Quonk!‘ and it’s a pleasure to hear some tracks from it live. A delighted Johnny was on fine form, wearing a Quonk T-shirt and still rousing the crowd. The upstairs of the Opera House was opened up to accommodate the additional capacity of those wanting to see the Mopeds! Johnny’s voice is still as powerful, matching the ferocity of the guitars and drums. Plenty of piss-taking went on between the band members who are clearly enjoying being together again. Celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, it’s great to see them back out again and we wish them all the best for their upcoming tour!
My local punk scene is thriving – one of our favourite bands is Rage DC, who were super stoked to play on Rebellion’s Arena Stage this year! Sadly I could only catch their first 2 numbers, but they were filling that large room with people, and undoubtedly picked up new fans. Making a very welcome return since their last Rebellion appearance in 2016, the band clearly enjoyed it as much as the crowd. Energetic, sing-along punk anthems are their speciality and boy did they deliver!
My Rebellion favourites Bar Stool Preachers were playing at almost the same time in the Opera House, yet again the extra space was needed here for their stunning acoustic set. With new record ‘Below The Static‘ set to drop next month, featuring reimagined versions of some songs from their hit album ‘Above The Static‘, singer TJ had promised that a string section would be added to this performance. A cello and violin were indeed there, plus three backing singers, while keyboard player Alex showed his virtuosity switching to acoustic guitar briefly. A very different set, BSP are bold and unafraid to break the boundaries, and they absolutely smashed it! Great to hear ‘Clock Out, Tools Down‘ which hasn’t been played live for ages. The emotional ‘Lighthouse Keeper‘, which allowed TJ to demonstrate his vocal range and Alex his beautiful piano playing, still brings a tear to my eye.
Remaining in the Opera House, Mr Lights Fantastic Spizz Energi and his band were up next. Equally at home on large and smaller stages, they gave a cracking performance to a gratifyingly large audience. Spizz took advantage of the large stage to unleash his full spirited and theatrical side, pulling out flags and running from side to side. A rousing ‘Soldier Soldier‘ got the crowd clapping along. Several covers including Roxy Music‘s ‘Virginia Plain‘ and Kraftwerk‘s ‘The Model‘ reimagined Spizz-style also went down extremely well. Souvenir finger lights were chucked (mostly successfully) into the crowd and Spizz made reference to a right wing march rumoured to be happening in Blackpool the next day.. if it does, it won’t get very far! Ending on a high with the traditional ‘Where’s Captain Kirk?‘ they can be very pleased with a great reception.
With Grade 2 unfortunately having to pull out of the festival due to a family emergency, I decided to check out new band Kugo Death Ray made up of members of Riskee & the Ridicule on the Introducing stage. Singer Scott Picking aka Riskee has more than a hint of Paul Heaton about his vocals in this band’s incarnation, combining an emotional delivery with meaningful lyrics. A three piece band consisting of voice, drums and bass with backing electronics, it’s great to hear the full range of Scott’s voice. Expressive and heartfelt and something a little different, their songs exceeded my expectations – find of the day for me!
The amazing Toyah‘s sheer radiance lit up the Opera House as she captivated us all with her youthful exuberance, this consummate performer making the years fall away. A full band enchanced a very well received set, covering her full back catalogue. Toyah was in good humour, saying “Only a singer with a lisp can sing this song” before giving a fabulous rendition of her 1981 hit ‘It’s A Mystery‘! Covers are also a firm part of her set, including Black Sabbath‘s ‘Paranoid‘ and Billy Idol‘s ‘Rebel Yell‘ during which Toyah encouraged us all to let go and join in! Her lockdown song ‘Rhythm in my House‘ also went down very well – she brought rhythm to the Opera House tonight!
Tonight’s headliners The Stranglers are also celebrating their 50th anniversay in 2024. Embarking upon tours across the UK and Europe, plus festival appearances further afield, the band have been celebrating in style and wowing the crowds wherever they play. The Empress Ballroom was absolutely rammed for this much anticipated appearance, as we photographers filled the pit, lining the entire front of the stage. Despite the late hour, the band put on an absolutely stunning show – Rebellion may be a festival, but this wasn’t a festival set. The ballroom floor was moving several inches with the crowd as they lapped up the hits ‘Always The Sun‘, ‘Grip‘ and ‘Hanging Around‘, with the explosive ‘Tank‘ back in the set much to my joy. An incredible moment ocurred midway, when singer and guitarist Baz Warne introduced Lora Logic, who originally played sax on ‘Hey! (Rise Of The Robots)‘ in 1978’s ‘Black and White‘ album. Tonight she returned to reprise this role for the first time on a stage with The Stranglers since 1978! JJ Burnel was on excellent form, high kicks aplenty as he enthusiastically thumped his bass, having an absolute ball with the rest of us in the ballroom!
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In 1978 Herman co-founded Dutch Rock Against Racism and was a founder of Pin punkzine. He’s vocals/saxophone for Cheap ‘n’ Nasty and in 2021 co-founded the Punk Scholars Network, Netherlands.
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