Riot Pageant (Day Two) (additionally examine Day One)
Blackpool
Third-Sixth August 2023

Paul Clarke continues his odyssey via the Riot punk competition in Blackpool, visiting some distinctive merch stalls and catching up with our boss John Robb on the literary stage. Phil Thorns takes the images.

Purchase advance tickets for Riot 2024 right here 

Riot have to be the one competition on earth that has an entire merchandise stall devoted to the promoting of all issues studded.  Folks flock to refill on studded chokers, wristbands and belts which might be important for any punk’s outfit, regardless of how previous they’re.

Wandering around the stalls is fascinating as you should buy a dizzying array of Cockney Rejects t-shirts, or a Conflict cushion cowl for the couch in your punk conservatory. There’s even an opportunity to purchase some uncommon vinyl, if music is extra your factor.

Up within the newer convention space of the sprawling Winter Gardens there are stalls, together with one selling the excellent work that the Sophie Lancaster Basis does to fight hate crime. Additionally represented are punks towards sweatshops and Amnesty Worldwide for people who recall that many punks noticed themselves as a part of a primarily working class motion decided to tackle senseless prejudice and inequality.

Additionally up there’s the at all times well-attended Riot literary stage, and my day begins there with best-selling novelists Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner and John King speaking about their new collaborative work, Seal Membership 2: The View From Poacher’s Hill. Basically these three non-conformist authors – who may moderately be described as sharing punk attitudes – give the working class a voice, and have every written a brief story that comes collectively below the Seal Membership banner. It’s attention-grabbing to listen to all of them speak concerning the challenges of the shorter format, but in addition the liberty that writing for a smaller writer like London Books can deliver.  Additionally they discuss how music is a crucial a part of their id and influences their different work.

I’ve by no means heard of I, Doris, however our photographer has really helpful them, and I’m glad I pop alongside to the Opera Home as they’re nice enjoyable, difficult the patriarchy with humour. Just like the Ramones all of them share the identical title as they arrive onstage of their sparkly tabards asking us to make the Doris Pledge, which most individuals are glad to do with a smile on their face.  The saucy I’ll Do It Myself and HRT are nice punky pop enjoyable, and Dunstan from Chumbawumba dons a tabard for a visitor look.

Then it’s again to the literacy stage to listen to Louder Than Conflict boss John Robb again in his hometown to speak about his new guide on the historical past of goth. It’s been a decade-long labour of affection, and as ordinary John’s session is a heat and enjoyable occasion with loads of laughs as he traces the historical past of goth from Roman occasions to modern-day bat caves.  John notes that lots of the massive bands on this motion deny they’re goths regardless of all of the proof on the contrary.  Curiously, when John is doing a signing afterwards there are not any apparent goths within the lengthy queue.

As John is signing, one other veteran, Henry Rollins, takes to the stage to speak about how British punk modified his life and influenced the American scene.  Rollins is an efficient talker, telling us about how listening to The Damned and imported punk singles – which is all he may afford on his minimal wage jobs – allowed this lonely and broken little one to search out his tribe. I believe many individuals within the standing room solely viewers would establish with that. The one barely disingenuous be aware is when he says he isn’t an artist, when by any affordable measure he’s, and a major one at that.

I’ve seen plenty of folks round Riot with Dust Field Disco t-shirts on, so I determine to see what the fuss is all about. Singer Spunk comes on in a masks and the remainder of the band are in fancy gown trying like they’ve wandered in from a Blackpool stag do gone very, very improper.  Behind all of the enjoyable, they’ve constructed a giant following by writing catchy tunes like Unstoppable, which might be actually punchy and catchy stay.

One of many nice issues about punk is it embraced multi-culturalism within the late Seventies, when the Nationwide Entrance had been marching spherical our streets, and Two Tone supplied a musical response to their hate.  Neville Staple, a founding member of The Specials, is now a solo act, and he kicks off with Gangsters.  Most of the folks shanking alongside to this traditional will keep in mind teenage events the place the primary Specials album was the soundtrack to younger love.

Staple is effortlessly cool, backed by a crack ska band who get a full home going with an infectious model of Strain Drop, earlier than actually cranking it up with Concrete Jungle and A Message to You Rudy, sparking a mass singalong on the refrain. His set has a giant shut with Ghost City, which appears simply as apt now as when it was written as a searing critique of Thatcher’s Britain.

Again within the Opera Home, The Vapors are enjoying Jimmie Jones, which they introduce as the one pop tune a few mass assassin, and a spirited model of that alleged ode to onanism, Turning Japanese.  Then Henry Rollins is up for an epic two-hour plus monologue, which covers a lot of the areas he handled in his literary speak, however he does say he loves enjoying festivals like Riot as he doesn’t have to clarify the importance of the primary Damned album or the Ramones as that may be a given with this viewers. He’s such an interesting performer, and he additionally factors out that he nonetheless sees the punk ethos dwelling on within the younger folks preventing for reproductive rights again house within the face of the MAGA insanity.

One other band from again within the day who’ve a sole surviving member are Anti-Nowhere League, and what an excellent frontman Animal is. He has charisma to burn, actually proudly owning the stage and getting the gang going.  They’re extra of a rock band today with the newer members grinding out the riffs, however led by Animal they ship a extremely entertaining present. There is likely to be a pointless cowl of Runaway, however For You and the nonetheless highly effective I Hate…Persons are nice tunes.  So What sparks a chant-along, and people traditional Streets Of London actually advantages from a punk makeover.

Punk to me is at all times about considering in another way, so having an opportunity at Riot for folks to debate concepts and the motion’s historical past suits completely with a top quality musical invoice that makes use of the completely different areas to cowl the widest spectrum of tastes doable.

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Phrases by Paul Clarke, you possibly can see his creator profile right here.

Images by Phil Thorns, see his Instagram