BANDS OF FUTURES PAST

Manicured Noise, Blurt, Delta Five, Section 25, Quando Quango,Spizz, Monochrome Set, 23 Skidoo, Rema Rema, Rubella Ballet, Television Personalities, Lydia Lunch, Snatch, Marine Girls, Josef K, Dolly Mixture, Mod-ettes, Mass, The Soft Boys, Richard Strange, Fad Gadget, LiLiPUT, Au Pairs, In Camera, Young Marble Giants, Clock DVA, DAF, Modern English, The Raincoats, Kleenex these are just some of the support bands that flourished in that glorious era at the start of the 80's when concert going was almost a nightly event. The venues were large. small, obscure, well known and downright bizarre. The main acts were very much a part of what people called Post-Punk and there was a general feeling of experimentation and possibilities.A visit to see Joy Division, Gang Of Four, Magazine, The Fall, Killing Joke, Wire, The Pop Group and the like inevitably meant there was an opportunity to see different support acts all over London and beyond.

The music created sounded like the sound of the future, it had complexity, light and shade and a Funk influence soon wound its way in. 

Looking back on those glory days, it's remarkable how affordable it all was. Getting there was cheap as chips, ticket prices were very very reasonable and refreshments at the venues took into account that none of us had a lot of money.

What it felt like was not so much as a movement but a load of bands emerging with a bit of musical aspiration, a load of bands that had their own little niche. And on top of that we also had the wonderful Two Tone bands who gave us something extraordinary and unifying.

Many, viewed that era as a bit po-faced but anyone who saw the likes of Spizz Oil/Energi/etc,  Blurt or Television Personalities will tell you that there was a lot of good old fashioned fun at these gigs.

The recorded evidence of this period has given us some amazing albums and singles but they don't capture the vibrancy of that era, the buzz of seeing so many new bands and of course the performances. These bands could play, and those that were still learning their craft would give the audience something to think about. That, for want of a better word, Post-Punk period was fantastic. It felt like the future, now!