It's the last weekend in March, so that means a car full of us are heading down the A1 to the seaside town of Scarborough for a couple days at the towns, now annual, punk festival. We arrived at the AirBnB, same one as last year and very nice it was too, a pint in the Albert, same pub as last year and still a good wee place, then off for dinner at the same Chinese restaurant as last year as well, it was also top. We got a taxi to the venue but we found ourselves held up. Of all things, there was an orange walk going though the town. For a moment I thought we were in the west of Scotland rather than Yorkshire. We picked up our wristbands from the fantastically professional organisers and crew who put these couple of days together and we were ready to go. Saturday took us to the festival, and much like the rest of the experience so far, nothing much had changed. The organisation at the venue was fantastic, the beer and food were both good and reasonably priced and the place was buzzing with many of the same faces from last year, including the ‘One Man Mosh Pit’ a giant of a lad who took the party to the front of the stage for pretty much every band. Something else that hadn’t changed much over the years is the lineup. This was our third trip to this festival and for at least 7 of the 16 bands performing over the weekend, they had been here twice or more out of the four years the event has run. There are two ways to look at that I guess, the first is to say, well, these bands are floor fillers and the people love them, which is true. The other way is to say, repetition leads to a bit of staleness. Numbers were down a wee bit this year, how much repeat acts factored into these punks’ decisions not to come, we will never know. We all went into the weekend with an open mind, ready to hear some of the music that really did define a generation, and many of those originals of that very generation, were gathered in Scarborough Spa. So, it all started with Yer Mum, a London, drum and bass guitar, two-some. I didn’t love the opening couple of numbers, which were followed by a rather lengthy sales pitch from the drummer, they could have got an extra song into that time and that might have generated a few more ‘likes’. After that though, things changed and they seemed to settle into their rhythm. They finished really strongly and left me wanting more. I’d go see them again. Next up was Crashed Out. This was Blaydon Races punk! Crashed Out bunch of Geordie lads, complete with a singer in a Brian Johnston style flat cap. I thought they grabbed their chance and delivered some no-nonsense, old-school punk. Some punk rock bands heavy on the punk, Crashed Out heavy on the rock and they sounded very good for that. Another band from the Northeast was, of course, the Angelic Upstarts. Clearly Crashed Out are fans; they gave up about half their set to play Upstarts classics. The crowd loved it. I loved it, but I’d liked to have heard more of Crashed Out’s own stuff, they had the chops to carry their set off with their own songs, absolutely no doubt. I like Riskee and the Ridicule, they played here last year and were a highlight for me then, and a band I was looking forward to seeing this time around. They did not disappoint. This is a band who, I think, are stretching the genre and could well be described as ‘punk rap’. The spoken worked making up chunks of their songs and their set, all with a bit of a political undertone. They are not new kids on the block, rather they have been around for a decade or more and, like so many young bands, perform for the love of the music, certainly not the money. I enjoyed them and look forward to seeing a full set in a hot, sweaty venue, just where I think they would excel. Hung Like Hanratty make their own return appearance next. There is no doubt the crowd love them; the place is packed. For me, they are a bit of a cabaret act, there is nothing wrong with that, it's one I generally enjoy. That said, a couple of songs need to be retired. Punk is about inclusivity, HLH miss that with one or two of their offerings, I feel that takes away from their overall fun. Since the line-up was announced, The Good, The Bad and The Zugly were a band I was looking forward to seeing. This performance was the first time they had performed ‘outside the European Union’ as they put it. Perhaps just a statement of fact, perhaps a wee nod to Brexit, who knows? It is punk, people are allowed to be a wee bit political. They had the tea-time slot and so the room was not as full as it might have been but that didn’t matter to Ivar Nikolaisen, he blasted on stage with the rest of this Norwegian five piece and they gave it their all. I really enjoyed them. Their energy topped the day, and it wasn’t long before the hall started to get a bit busier. This was solid performance from a band who put their all into their spot. I hope to see them again. Then along came Booze and Glory. I absolutely loved then! Their brand of Polish/East London Oi was absolutely infectious. I also thought they were the tightest band of the day. They filled their 50 minutes with street punk anthems that saw the room packed out. ‘Swinging Hammers’, ‘Only Fools Get Caught’ and ‘London Skinhead Crew’ got the joint jumping. These guys travel the world, I hope they come north of the Watford Gap sometime, it’d be great to see them in Scotland. I have always liked a bit of Ska, but I was also a wee bit surprised to see The Selector in the line-up. There is no doubt they are a great band, Pauline Black is a great entertainer, but for me they were not a great fit for this punk bill. I wonder if there had been one or two more two-tone additions, which might have brought more of a Ska crowd along too, this might have worked better for me. That said, others loved it. Our fellow Edinburgh travellers, Kevin and Kenny, thought it was fab, as did the packed hall that watched. That’s the thing about a festival, not everything works for everyone. The night finished with The Casualties. This was blistering New York street punk played with a no holds barred approach. I loved it and behind the yelled lyrics there was a band who really knew their stuff. The guitar work was fantastic; the bass blistering and Marc Eggars kept the beat with a violent regularity you hear in few other settings. There were a couple of cans kicked into the audience and singer, David Rodriguez jumped onto the floor to get a circle pit and a wall of death going. This was a show at breakneck speed. I loved it, the Casualties really brough in the spirit the Ramones, Rancid and GBH. It was a pity that by the time the Casualties were finishing there set so many had left the hall. And that was Day One over. I’d really enjoyed it. Day one was very much a patchwork of punk, there was a two piece, a bit of Oi, some comedy punk, a bit of rap, a touch of Ska and a whole heap of street punk aggression. That mix provided something for everyone, but that also meant there were bits of the day that chunks of the crowd were not drawn to. That said, every band drew a good crowd, but few packed the room. I think the mix worked overall, but it was a bit of a risky strategy. We got back home and Pete poured himself a cup of green tea. I did smile, my day bookended by an orange walk and a green tea. Sunday morning saw the clocks go forward. We went to grab a quick pint at the Albert, our wee Scarborough local. Pete was seduced by the excellent carvery, and he had a plate for his breakfast. Everyone, from the chef to the bar staff, the owner and any passing diner all remarked on how strange it was that he didn’t want gravy with it! All that meant we were a wee bit delayed in getting to the Spa. By the time we arrived Voodoo Radio had just taken the stage, and we went for a wee look. I am so pleased we did! They were the most fun band of the weekend. Voodoo Radio are a two piece – drum and guitar father and daughter combo. Dad, as he was known to his drummer and the audience, but is actually called Tony, plays guitar whilst his daughter Paige does the singing, drumming and most of the talking, all of which was hilarious. This was just a happy 50 minutes to start off Sunday. The music was good and the craic was mighty. “An absolute belter” as Big Al described it, they were too. Menace is an old school London punk outfit who trace their roots back to the summer of ’76 when so much of punk was starting to take shape. Of course, there have been lineup changes but singer Noel Martin has been there throughout; angry, political and ready to have a chomp at anything he is not too keen on. All characteristics I love in a band! Today I noticed it was Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC fame on guitar, and he did a great job. It was a pleasure grabbing a quick chat with Leigh later. He was a last-minute replacement for regular guitarist Pete Bradshaw, who was under the weather. And it certainly was last minute; Leigh had invested two hours the previous day learning the set – and very well it went too. I really enjoyed this throwback to the early days of it all. I had never seen Chelsea before tonight, what a gap that has been in my punk gig history! They were without front man Gene who is putting health first just now. Instead, the rest of the band pitched in singing the songs. I thought it really worked too. The band looked great in their black and red shirts, their hair was spiked and the anger kept coming out. It was a great performance by a band with a big back catalogue and, clearly, a lot of depth. Remember it was only Pete who had the carvery, so we sacrificed Instigators for a fish supper. By all accounts they were as hard hitting as they were in the ‘80s. Just before 7 o’clock my highlight came along in the shape of Alvin Gibbs and, of course, the indomitable Charlie Harper. The UK Subs were in the house. Charlie is now 81 and walks, a bit of the time, with a stick. As he wandered on the stage the years just fell off him. The voice is no different now to what it was 30, 40 ,or indeed, 50 years ago. Charlie is one of punk’s great survivors. ‘Warhead’, ‘CID’ and ‘Riot’ all got an outing in this 50-minute set. I hope he’s got another 20 years left in the tank, it's always good to see a Sub’s show and tonight was no exception. Another great punk survivor is Animal and his Anti Nowhere League. They have appeared at this festival every year it has run. They are, certainly, floor fillers and the place was packed for them. As always, it's a tight set of venom and hate. People, the law and most certainly himself are all targets for Animals malice and the Scarborough faithful lapped it up in spades. Sham 69 brought the night, and indeed the festival, to a close. Jimmy Pursey wandered on with his eyes as black as a shark’s before bounding into 45 minutes of some fantastic bovver boot punk. All the hits were there, ‘Borstal Breakout’, ‘Angels with Dirty Faces’ and, of course ‘Hurry Up Harry’. Add into that the cover of the Clash’s ‘White Riot’ and there was no doubt the ‘Kids Were United’. Tonight was the best I’ve seen Sham 69 in a very long time and were a great way to end the weekend. Once again, Scarborough was a top few days. I always come away from these events a wee bit reflective. There is no doubt the scene is strong, there remains a strong following for both the music and this festival. It equally beyond doubt, that the scene is ageing. So many bands had a member or two who was unwell and we spoke to a few punks who were creaking at the seams a wee bit themselves too. I wonder how that leaves Scarborough. It's a festival I love; I wonder what the long-term plans of the organisers are. I feel, if it is to go on for many more years, then it needs to bring in more new bands with their own followings, this year there were two bands fewer than normal to meet the headliners costs. I also think it needs to raise its profile locally. We never met a taxi driver or pub owner who knew the festival was on. There is a big local market out there just waiting to be opened up. Alternatively, the future may be to keep the same bands and, by extension, the same punks coming back every year until it simply becomes financially unviable. Whatever their long-term plan is, the organisers, once again, did a great job of it all. The early bird tickets were released, but for the first time, we never grabbed them. We will hopefully be back, but this year we decided to wait to see the bill for 2027. The familiarity of all things ‘Scarborough’ is nice, but some new bands would be nice too. Till next time…