Crass

The above picture was taken from my first ever gig (apart from a few local bands. The date was July 3rd 1981, The venue was the Trinity Church in Irvine, Ayrshire and the band was anarcho-punk collective Crass supported by Poison Girls and Annie Anxiety. The gig was organised by the local branch of CND and tickets cost a whopping £1. At the time I still had one month to go until I became a teenager but was already heavily into Crass the band as well as the label. I remember very little about the gig except for small incidental bits and pieces. One day at school rumours were going about that Crass were playing a gig in Irvine. The first initial feeling of cynicism soon gave way to excitement when I finally realised it was true. The excitement soon turned to anxiety as I wondered whether my parents would think me old enough to attend such an event. They obviously knew that I had been into the punk scene for a couple of years, even at such an early age, but playing records in my bedroom was one thing, actually attending a gig full of older people with such a bad reputation thanks to the tabloid press was quite another. I needn't have worried. Over dinner that night I mentioned it to my mother who only asked one question, 'how much will it cost?'. Straight away she handed me the one pound saying I better be quick as it will sell out with it being that cheap. On the actuak night of the gig my friend and I headed into town quite early to find large groups of people hanging around the town centre, drinking and being loud but generally well behaved. I always remember that most of the punks hanging around were wearing Exploited t-shirts which was a bit strange as their was a definite divide between the Exploited kind of punk and Crass (Crass sang 'Punk Is Dead', the Exploited sang 'Punk's Not Dead'). I must have looked really out of place. For some reason I remember wearing a blue cord jacket that night and even though I would have had a few badges on the lapel there was no other indication that I was going to the same place as those older guys wearing leather jackets, bondage trousers, studs and mohicans. Looking back I was probably closer to the true meaning of punk with my (unintentional) individual look than all the clones but it didn't feel that way at the time. When the doors of the venue opened, which was a bit strange considering Crass's anti-religious views) we were among the first people in, heading straight to the front of the stage. There was plenty of space at this time but having had no experience of gigs this size I didn't realise that the place would soon be jam packed. First on stage was Annie_Anxiety an American poet/singer/painter/actor who really didn't go down well at all with the meat heads in the crowd looking for a 3 chord thrash to pogo thuggishly to. It was hard not to feel sorry for her as she was booed and abused relentlessly and even more disgracefully, continually spat on by a section of the audience. At times she looked close to tears but full credit to her for gamely finishing her set and not giving in to those disgusting neantherals. Next up came Poison_Girls. Again the female singer was subjected to abuse and spitting but Vi Subversa (singer) was a different proposition. A lot older than most of the audience and in no mood to be intimidated by those yobs she stopped the band halfway through a song and growled ' we will not continue to be spat on'. Sensing that the gig may be abandoned the abuse halted apart from one or two of the thickest in the crowd. The band finished their set without any further incident. While waiting for Crass to appear my gig going naivity really became apparent. Me and my friend were right at the front, leaning on the stage when we noticed someone trying to push their way in. Even at our young age we weren't for giving up the space where we had stood since the doors opened. Eventually the guy, a few years older than us realised he was getting nowhere and tried a different plan of attack. Tapping us on the shoulder 'excuse me but I'm with the band and I've got to get on stage for a few songs. Any chance I could get in there?' My friend and I looked at each other and at the same time replied ' yes, no problem'. Needless to say Mr Crassman watched the rest of the gig from the place where we should have been standing, getting no closer to the band than we had been . Still to this day I remember that lesson and have never given up my space at a gig since. I don't really remember much about Crass's performance. Right at the start of their first song a large brawl broke out just behind us. Almost as if it was pre arranged to begin at the first chord. There was a report in the following week's local paper about the fighting and I thought when my parents read it I would be banned from any further gigs. It was never mentioned. So that was my first ever gig experience. I never got to see any of those bands again but they do still hold fond memories for me.
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LISTEN
Crass - Punk Is Dead listen
Crass - Big man Big MAN listen
Crass - It's The Greatest Working Class Rip Off listen
Poison Girls - Old Tart listen
Poison Girls - State Control listen
Poison Girls - Persons Unknown listen
Annie Anxiety - Cyanide Tears listen
Annie Anxiety - Hello Horror listen
Annie Anxiety - Burnt Offerings listen
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BUY
Crass - Southern_Records - Amazon
Poison Girls - Amazon
Annie Anxiety - Amazon