Scream, Mad Thatchers, Free Beer – West Indian Club, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – 4th June 1986

28th Jan 2024 – Things I remember about this show:

It was incredible! 5 piece Scream played all the hits from their first two albums.

Skeeter told us how insane hanging out with the Butthole Surfers was.

The pit was rough as fuck and I got winded under a pile-up on the floor. I went off to the side and grabbed a chair, dragging it into the pit in a brief lull between songs and sat down in a sulk, hoping that it might cool things down. I lasted about five seconds into the next song before I was knocked off and the chair disappeared.

At one point there was a small boy on the side of the stage and singer Pete Stahl picked him up to include him during whatever song it was they were playing but the boy wasn’t too happy about it and started crying.

The support bands suffered in the way that I have no memory of them at all. Scream outshined them completely.

Rich ‘Punk Encyclopedia’ Levine also had this to say when questioned about Free Beer!

FREE BEER from Fareham/Pompey way, replaced NOX MORTIS as Simon was ill. The West Indian got funny about their name being on the poster as they thought people would assume there was a free bar! Member of staff took objection to Skeeter climbing on top of the porch outside the front door. Toilets got damaged so we lost our deposit & got banned from the club for 2 years until new management meant we returned for the start of the S.T.E. era. Then someone with FREE BEER “mistakenly” took home part of the PA meaning the PA guy had to follow them in his car all the way to Fareham to retrieve it!

Paler Shade of Black, Atrox, Suicide Pact, All The Glory – West Indian Club, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – 19th September 1985

Diary entry: Last (Atrox) gig in Southampton. Went really well.

12th Feb 2021 – A Thursday night, no less. Not being too familiar with Southampton after having only been there a couple of times, we often got misdirected by the locals, whether by accident or folks not appreciating these scruffy young punks in their city.

We did establish many lifelong friendships from these times though. The West Indian Club was a magical place (in my mind now) though I had no real idea of the workings of organising shows or even understanding how sound was mixed in a live situation. I just stood on the stage and shouted as loud as I could and hoped I could be heard. Folks seemed to enjoy it, either way.