Tag: punk

Causing A Scene – 15th July 1988

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

This could be the chance of a lifetime
But the feelings in our hearts just don’t seem to rhyme
Too much hypocrisy, not enough respect
We’re all individuals, it’s that we seem to forget

How can we push against the tide
When we’re preoccupied with pride? 
Don’t you think it’s time we really tried
And put our self-righteousness aside

Too many people are just too content
To put time aside and try to prevent
The feelings that are in their hearts
That keeps you and me apart

Why do we idly threat and pass that cold stare
Isn’t it time that we were all aware
All these different sects just have to be
On the whole, we could all agree
All I’m trying to do is cause a scene
Bringing reality into my dream
Inducing energy into the core
Making it even better than it was before

Culture Shock, Hate That Smile, Corporate Grave – West Indian Club, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – 29th June 1988

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

From the STE Collective Facebook page:
S.T.E. 1! CULTURE SHOCK/HATE THAT SMILE/CORPORATE GRAVE – Wed 29 June 1988 – Southampton West Indian Club.

Kent Jolly who was an American woman living in the U.K. was booking a CULTURE SHOCK tour & contacted me (Rich) about a Southampton gig. A load of us had a meeting at the Joiners & put some money into a kitty. Paul Jay came up with the S.T.E. (Southampton, Totton & Eastleigh) Collective name simply based on the places where we lived. This might have been HATE THAT SMILE’s 1st gig – they were ex ATROX & old friends from Dorset (Wimborne, Dorchester & Wareham). This was definitely CORPORATE GRAVE’s first gig with Rik Godfrey on bass after Bren left. I made the flyer which was a bastardisation of a BRIGANDAGE poster with the pics from a CULTURE SHOCK fanzine interview I think. Beforehand we were really worried that no one would turn up but over 200 did. Bing at the WI warned us prior to the gig about people smoking drugs at the gig, which was ironic as afterwards when we went to pay him the member’s room was thick with smoke.

Paul Chambers: Yep, HTS 1st gig, I broke my A sting on the 1st note of the 1st song and replaced it in the dark with a D.

27th Jan 2024 – I reckon this picture must be from the first Hate That Smile gig because I actually don’t even remember Rich Waitland ever playing live with us so I think perhaps this would be our first show and that he bowed out soon after. Looks like we managed to get a good crowd of two people up and dancing, that being juggling Rut on the right.

Hate That Smile – Energise – 14th June 1988

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Alex Vann: Drums 
Rich Waitland: Guitar/Vocals 
Paul Chambers: Bass/Vocals 
Paul Simmons: Guitar 
Shaun Hemsley: Vocals

26th Feb 2021 – Not certain about the date for this but 1988 would be correct. This was the first iteration of Hate That Smile. Rich left fairly soon after recording this as we started to want to play more shows and I think he had young kids at the time and wasn’t able to commit his time. If I remember correctly I joined the band a little later after formation and still wasn’t sure about how to sing some of Paul’s lyrics so he and Rich ended up singing their songs in the studio.

Alex, the two Paul’s and I had all played together in Atrox which disbanded after Dave Redfern and Charlie Mason went off to university. I’m not sure of the genesis of Hate That Smile anymore. I think the Paul C came up with the name though not sure what the meaning was behind it. This was the time of the rise of Acid House music and raves which adopted the smiley face symbol and I found an image that was similar but the smile had been manipulated into something a little more sinister. I got 500 stickers made up and spread them everywhere I could around my little town. I don’t think they had any impact.

I still enjoy listening to these songs and we felt part of the much larger punk scene of the time though musically sometimes it’s hard to see where we fit in. I was always critical of my vocal skills, especially as this band needed a strong singer and not so much a shouter (which I also wasn’t particularly good at anyway) but considering how badly I sing these days I think I gave it a fair shot. The music holds up as interesting and I was happy with the lyrics I was contributing.

Any Change? (No) – 22nd March 1988

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Watch out for them on the corner of the street
Pissed out of their heads, knocked off their feet
‘Fuck Authority’ badges and ‘I Hate You’ shirts
Laughing at the people coming home from work

There’s a song they sing, a favourite phrase
They sing it every day like a brand new craze

‘Here mate, have you got any change?’
You look at me like that, I’m not so fuckin’ strange
‘Well fuck off then you tight old wank,
I know you’ve got some money, I saw you in the bank’

Don’t come up to me with your poor excuses
What you give is what you get so no one loses
You’re always telling me about scrounging off the state
All you end up doing is reaffirming all the hate

This song that you sing, I forgot the words
Why don’t you go away, you’re not being heard

You’d like to get pissed, it makes you feel good
You ‘don’t want their fuckin’ law’, but maybe you should
You’ll piss and moan when someone steals your money
The cops are gonna look at you and find it fuckin’ funny

Get off your arse and start acting what you preach
You know you’ve got a goal, that’s something you can teach
You sit back and laugh at others in their plight
Why don’t you help out and get something right

23 Nov 2025 – A bit of a confusing diatribe about the ‘chaos’ punks in the UK at the time