|
RUTS DC
For a genre that exploded kicking and snarling onto the music scene, burned brightly and then imploded just as quickly, punk rock has actually had a surprisingly long shelf life. Whilst it may well be over 45 years since Johnny Rotten & Co turned the musical landscape on its head, programmes like Netflix’s ‘Pistol’ show there is still considerable interest in the movement with many first and second generation bands continuing to tour regularly. Therefore, it was a pleasure to recently attend Cardiff’s Globe to see two of punks 'veterans' strut there stuff live when Ruts DC toured in support of their new album ‘Counterculture’, ably supported by ex-Adverts front man TV Smith. Tim Smith now plays almost exclusively without the assistance of a band. Whilst most of the audience are familiar with the classic numbers he wrote whilst a member of the Adverts, he has had a prodigious subsequent solo career and has regularly released albums over the past 40 years stretching from 1983’s ‘Channel Five’ up to the pandemic inspired ‘Lockdown Holiday’ in 2020. Cleverly mixing Advert standards with newer material, he retains a healthy sense of humour explaining that as a 66 he now has a bus pass, something he had not contemplated when writing ‘No Time to Be 21’ at age..er 21!
I am fortunate in having seen him play festivals with a full band (The Bored Teenagers) and in truth prefer the fully electrified versions of Adverts songs. However, you cannot fault the effort he puts in on stage when belting such classics as ‘Bored Teenagers’, ‘One Chord Wonders’ and of course ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’. Moreover, he has never been afraid to highlight his political leanings with newer tracks ‘Expensive Being Poor’, ‘Immortal Rich’ and ‘Let’s Go Back to the Good Old Days’ flagging up his social conscience. Additionally an unexpected highlight for me was hearing ‘Tomahawk Cruise’ played live for the first time only the 42 years after I bought the single by his post Adverts band TV Smiths Explorers. So here’s to TV Smith and long may he continue performing and bringing enjoyment to audiences all over the land.
I first saw the Ruts supporting the Damned at Cardiff University in 1979. Back then gigs were a very different beast to the commercial, gentile entities they are today with an undercurrent of violence never far from the surface. It was here my respect for the band was cemented as they reacted with actions, and not just words, to a large contingent of skinheads beating random members of the audience black and blue. Leaving the stage, all four band members weighed in to the melee and left a few of the pugilists with soreheads to remind them that being a bully is neither big nor clever! Subsequently the band suffered more than their fair share of professional and personal tragedy. Charismatic lead singer Malcolm Owen succumbed to drug addiction in 1980 at the criminally young age of 26 and, whilst the remaining members soldiered on as Ruts DC, they finally split in 1983. Sadly, further heartache occurred in 2007 when lead guitarist Paul Fox was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. These events alone would be enough for most bands to call it a day but ‘Segs’ Jennings and Dave Ruffy were made of sterner stuff. Having reformed for a benefit gig for Fox - enlisting the help of long time fan Henry Rollins on vocals - it proved a catalyst for a permanent reformation with additional guitarist Leigh Heggarty brought in to complete the new line up. They have subsequently released three albums and toured relentlessly, indeed I saw them earlier this year supporting the Stranglers on their farewell tour.
Starting with ‘Faces in the Sky’ from their new release ‘Counterculture’ the tone for the night was set. The driving beat, pounding bass and crashing guitars caused feet to move and spirits to soar as they quickly followed up with three bona fide Ruts classics in ‘SUS’, ‘You’re Just a..’ and ‘It was Cold’. By now the band had the sizeable crowd eating out of their hands and took the opportunity to mix tracks from their new album and also previous releases ‘Music Must Destroy’ and ‘Animal Now’. However, the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Ruts standards which appeared to have got better with age. ‘West One (Shine on Me)’ often seems to get overlooked as it was released shortly before Malcolm Owen's sad demise. However, it is a belter of a track and affords each member of the band a chance to shine musically. ‘Jah Wars’ allowed a modicum of breathing space, but it skanking/reggae beats were merely the calm before the storm as they then torched through ‘In a Rut’ and ‘Babylon's Burning’. It was touching that in the former track they took the time mid-song to segue into ‘Public Image’ in tribute to Keith Levine, guitarist for Public Image Ltd who sadly passed away last week. After the obligatory stage exit they returned to rapturous applause and concluded proceeding with an encore of ‘Pretty Lunatics’, ‘Psychic Attack’ and the full barrelled, terrace anthem that is ‘Staring at the Rude Boys’.
And there you have it, proof if ever was needed that age doesn’t dampen talent, and that battle hardened acts like TV Smith and Ruts DC can still captivate an audience with the best of them. If the tour is passing through your town do yourself a favour and get down there, but make sure you take your dancing shoes! Two Old Codgers enjoying the music: Big thanks to James at Division for his help with this
|
