Author Archives: Bob the Chiropodist

Nipper (so called because he was a short arse) and I were alter boys way back when I was into punk and he was into soul nothing in common and that was that. Continue reading →

there! said lead singer Joel, who later got his mouth bashed by his microphone as one of the crowd surfers accidentally kicked it whilst being thrown onto the stage. They impressed live with confident set that took in fast bass driven romps and sensitive acoustic guitar melodies – Peace & Quiet being my fave of the night. We pondered what makes some bands huge and what others sink without trace. The Rifles have the tunes, the hooklines, the image (even a crazy muppet-like guitarist whos not afraid to encourage the crowd to clap along) to make it. There arent many who will have a career anything like Mark E Smith mind.

The annual outing of The Fall is always a joy to behold. Most of the crowd I chatted to were pissed off that I Ludicrous had been dropped from the bill (a fall out with MES we hear) Their lyrics are second to none Well, maybe second to half man half biscuit Yeah, second to them.I was pissed off at not being served at the bar. Bobbie Peru provided support a rocking 3 piece but with a rather limited vocal range (ie shouting).
The video Jock bombed again but did a mercifully short set this time round. The Fall were good, doing stuff from their last 3 studio LPs (including my Manchester choice – the wonderful Pacifying Joint) but not great until late on in the set when the Bobbie Peru bass player joined them and MES actually turned the guitar up (instead of down as he kept doing the rest of the evening). Nobody induces a relentlessly hypnotic, head nodding sound as compulsively as they do. A short encore of white lightening and they were off. It was over far too quickly and you get the sense that the rest of the band wanted to play on.but as ev-ah MES call the shorts.

A big thanks to Tony and John for the freebie. Higher Res photos of the Fall that night can be obtained from tony.woolgar@nhs.net
I got home, switched the Telly on and Idea with Johnny Vegas was on BBC2 and what were they playing whilst filming a porn film in the bathroom? (there was an NCT meeting in the living room at the same time) Pacifying Joint. Joy joy joy! Continue reading →

I’ve never been much of a one for fancy dress, mainly due to the effort involved in doing it right – I’m just too much of a last minute person. I managed a Toulouse Lautrec for a ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’ works … Continue reading →

My second time at the festival was with my cousin and flat-mate Digger & spent the week-end with Smiley Riley and Mitsus gang (Paddy, Debby and Peppy). We made the fatal mistake of arriving late on the Thursday night and … Continue reading →

years on, Ranking Roger, resplendent in his dreadlocks, can still get the crowd jumping. Dave Wakeling has been replaced with Rogers son, Ranking Junior and the two put on a great show, running across the stage in opposite directions and synchronised dancing on the spot. I saw them last year at Glastonbury but as ever, its so much better up close and sweaty.

For me though, support act Neville Staples stole the show. The lights dimmed and WARNING, WARNING – NUCLEAR ATTACK! came over the PA and the place went nuts to a brace of Specials songs of the highest quality. Gangsters, Guns of Navarone, Rat Race (Pointing at Lee and Sledge for the ..Youve got a PhD line), Nite Klub, A message to you Rudy and my personal favourite of the night Doesnt Make It Alright. glorious stuff. That debut Specials LP is a work of genius. For my 40th I asked people to send photos of themselves with their favourite LP and I chose this one.

The crowd was a good natured 40-something bunch who all had nostalgia fuelled smiley faces, moshing and skanking with our spectacles in their hands for fear of them flying off into the crowd. There was one horrible bastard in the crowd though who was just at the back of the moshpit viciously pushing and hitting people. He did it a few times to me and Sledge and at first you just dance your way through the crowd to escape but when it happened to me again I managed to accidentally stamp on his ankle which calmed him down a bit.

I never got to see the Specials in their heyday partly because you were either punk/indie or mod/ska back then (daft, as The Specials had first made their name supporting The Clash) and partly because they split up in 81 before I truly got into my gig going stride. I got to see Neville play with the Fun Boy Three at the Hacienda in 83 but it wasnt quite the same.

He finished his set with Ghost Town the track which Damon Albarn said, at 13, captured his imagination: I owe it all to that song. Im still inspired by it and it continues to inform everything I do. What else can you saya top, top evening.

Bob Continue reading →