Tag: punk

STE Bulletin 23 – 2nd February 1994

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Coarse and guttural one-syllable Anglo-Saxon with Mr Cynical

Hello again, bet you’re glad to hear from me again. 

Time moves on, things change, people change. Not me, no way. I see all those so-called punk rockers wearing nice new clothes and brand new shoes and, get this, with their shirts tucked in! 

I had the misfortune to actually converse with one of these working-class pretenders (baseball cap on backwards!). You know what he had planned? He was going to punk out at a local show, with so-called punk bands playing. No doubt going on to a bar later and dance to rave or somesuch! What are these people coming to? Let me tell you – it’s not punk rock is it? 

You’ll never catch me in one of those places, even if Beki Bondage was naked in there. Punk rock is about rebellion and rejecting all those normal things. What do they think they’re going to change with their positive attitudes and smiling faces? Sod all – that’s what! 

All those straights can’t be changed – they’re assholes and always will be – this isn’t opinion, it’s truth and I should know….

Shaun’s Shorts

Mr Cynical, miserable old git, eh?

There’s been a lot of talk in the bulletins recently, about friends, especially since one of our greatest friends, Steve Burgess, passed away. I too have been thinking about friends.

Friends, by nature, are friendly. They reassure you and respect you. They can also point out your faults without holding a grudge, or without putting you down so that you still feel good about yourself. They don’t hold you responsible for their own problems and they are willing to accept change.

Steve Burgess was sometimes disheartened by the punk scene, due to its lack of acceptance of change or new ideas, i.e. closed-mindedness.

What do us old-time punks do? The ones who were there years ago?

Do we disassociate ourselves from what is happening now and reminisce about the glory days, or do we put in our efforts and make those glory days again (and again)?

I think those wishing for the old days are closed-minded and unable to accept change. I also think that is their right but what I’m afraid of is the poison that can be spread. It is easy to criticise our scene – it is easy to criticise anything. It is also hard to ignore unconstructive criticism. Doubts start to nag, “Is it worth it? Why do we bother?”

Let’s reject those ideas – they are not for our scene.

One of Steve’s favourite sayings was “It’s all punk rock, innit?” meaning that whatever we did, whatever we do – it’s still punk rock. We are not trapped by the term but released from it.

Can you accept change? Can you be my friend?

Fabric, Chicken-Bone Choked, Haywire – Joiners, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – 15th January 1994

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27th Dec 2023 – Unfortunately, I have little recollection of this show except enjoying Chicken Bone Choked, and buying the Fabric 7″. Here is what Rich Levine wrote about it.

“We were all still in a state of shock over Steve’s passing & there had been some discussion between ourselves about cancelling gigs but on reflection, it was far better to keep busy & around this time I think people took strength from being with their friends. Certainly, I remember spending a lot of time with people either at the S.T.E. house in Eastleigh or Jon, Selina & Dave’s Maybush house.
Have to say I don’t remember too much about this gig (there was also a lot of drinking at this time & I didn’t keep a diary in 1994).
HAYWIRE were based up in Southampton by this time I think & whilst on the surface it may have been an odd choice to have HAYWIRE supporting FABRIC, I think this may have been due to our sense of mischief as someone from Weymouth had drunkenly said to Tony (from FABRIC) that they “hated people like him” at the GO! Joiners gig a few years previously! 😉 
This was FABRIC’s first gig for us (although Jamie had played for us in LONG COLD STARE), they were from London & they had their own Wiija-affiliated label Whole Car who also put out CHICKEN-BONE CHOKED’s Ed Wenn produced sole 7″.
This was CHICKEN-BONE CHOKED’s last gig for us as tensions between Philip & Simon came to a head – a shame as they were a fine band.
The flyer backdrop to this one was the cover photo to ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT’s ‘Paint As A Fragrance’ LP.”

*Chicken-Bone Choked, Older Than Dirt – Joiners, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – 18th December 1993

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Rich Levine: “THIRST! were due to play but had to pull out late on as Steve was ill……Initially, it was thought that Steve’s illness meant THIRST! couldn’t play the gig was pleurisy. Tragically & suddenly on the morning of December 28 1993, Steve died from a heart attack resulting from an undetected congenital condition. He was 24 years & left behind his wife Chrissy & daughters Amanda & Bex who was only 3 months old. Steve’s death left a big hole in the local scene.”

Coarse and gutteral one syllable Anglo-Saxon with Mr Cynical – 25th December 1992

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I picked up that excuse for toilet paper S.T.E. Bulletin, the other day + was so fuckin’ furious that I wrote to the bastards and they, being the nice boys that they are (P-fucking-C + you know what that stands for don’t you, Pig Conspiracy), wanted me to contribute a column. Guess I must’ve impressed with my charm.

First off, that fucking Danny Zuko, get a fuckin’ life you miserable fuckin’ fuckwit. The last place you want to go to meet or make friends is at a fuckin’ gig. They’re all nicey-nicey boys these days. Not like the good old days of ’82, when punks knew what punk meant + that was Anarchy, Chaos + Fags. Those fuckers these days spike their hair with hair gel – we used to just grab hold of some live wires, ‘cos it was cheaper + not supporting some fascist company like Boots.

I hope Danny, for your sake, you’re not one of these long hair types, ‘cos if you are + I see you at the next gig, I’m gonna cut all your fuckin’ hair off + set light to it, like that fuckin’ hippie Hendrix set light to his guitar. I fuckin’ cannot stand all this rehashed 60’s hippie shit. about peace + love. I bet you take drugs too? We just used to bang our heads on the pavement ’til we were senseless. It was cheaper + we knew we weren’t contributing to the destruction of the rainforests.

In fact, I don’t think you should bother going to any gigs at all, you’re such a sad bastard, that it would be a good idea if we all just forgot about you altogether, whoever you are:

The gigs I’ve been to lately have been so shit. Badly organised + badly run but I come to them more + more, ‘cos I like to laugh at those so-called ‘scenesters’, who think everything’s great + just wonderful in their own little world. Fuck that.

The only good thing that came out at one gig, was the shit I had in the toilets there before I went home. Who is that Selina thing? Jeez, another long-haired type I notice. Typical.

I bet both Rich + Rob (from their articles) have long hair too (or know someone with long hair). Judging by what they wrote, they sound like a bunch of hippy girls, who’ve never had a decent shag in their lives (unlike some of us).

That Rob was nearly right with some of the things he said but then said that things weren’t gloomy in the future! Oh yes, they fuckin’ are mate + I’m probably the most optimistic person you’re ever likely to meet. Things are so shit that I’m not going to even bother writing anything else but like my favourite actor said – I’LL BE BACK!

25th Jan 2024 – Reading this today cracks me up. Danny Zuko was Steve Burgess’ pseudonym and of course, I loved dearly everyone I mentioned here. Mr Cynical was an easily exploitable stereotype that I don’t think I could quite capture again these days.