Published in Sounds, 6th June 1982
The Exploited / Anti-Establishment / Angela Rippon’s Bum | Gig Review | Zig Zag Club 1982 | I WAS already well aware of the Exploited‘s less than vast popularity in London long before I experienced Sunday’s grim and depressing carnival of misery at the Zig Zag Club.
What wasn’t prepared for was the surprising extent of their unpopularity. Saturday’s gig was reportedly better attended, so maybe two nights was pushing it a hit far. Whatever the reason, tonight the Westbourne Park venue was populated so sparsely that the atmosphere was literally reduced to something like that of a soundcheck, complete with gently humming amplifiers between numbers. Unbelievable I know, but perfectly true.
Anyway, before the main attractions arrived, we stood and watched politely from the back of the hall as a group of skinheads danced joyfully to the music of Angela Rippon’s Bum.
The Exploited / Anti-Establishment / Angela Rippon’s Bum | Gig Review | Zig Zag Club 1982
It quickly came to light that two nights earlier Tony Barker, the band’s singer, had been hurt during a clash with police on the streets of Islington. The Bum had to make do with a stand-in singer.
Whatever, ARB’s music was drab, unimaginative punk at its least attractive. There was a moment of positiveness when their skinhead vocalist made a heartfelt anti-glue speech as an introduction ‘Glue Sniffing Skinheads’, but that I’m afraid, was it. Get well soon, Tony.
Poor old Anti-Establishment made no impression whatsoever, although it was hardly their fault. While they were on, the entire audience, with the exception of a couple of fans, stayed at the bar fiddling with their drinks and gazing vacantly down at the enormous empty dance floor in front of them.
Meanwhile Anti-Establishment’s unexceptional punk echoed pointlessly around the club, and we waited. Nobody seemed to notice as the videos were switched back on again . . .
To the accompaniment of a rousing heralding tape, Wattie stomped sulkily onto the stage, each footstep thudding hollow and lonely, hanging in the smoke-free air. He wasn’t at all amused.
The Exploited / Anti-Establishment / Angela Rippon’s Bum | Gig Review | Zig Zag Club 1982
The skins returned and clustered around the front of the stage. Wattie’s microphone spun dangerously close and a few cropped heads backed away, just a little bit Warily. “This one’s for London, it’s called ‘Dead Cities’!” Wattie cried.
No matter what you might feel about the Exploited’s outlook on life, there’s no denying the fact that they can make a truly fine sound when the mood takes them. This evening for instance, it was quite striking just how mighty songs like ‘Dogs Of War’, ‘Alternatives’, and ‘Dead Cities’ are.
All three are healthy great helpings of (exhilarating punk power thrust, and they almost brought the place to life. But as the show heaved itself onwards, the Exploited’s good points became distant hazy memories
The enthusiastically chanted requests of the skinheads were at long last answered. With a cheer of recognition, the unmistakable tones of ‘F*** A Mod’ oozed darkly from the speakers and swiftly poisoned the air. Everyone knew the words, everyone sang along, and everyone went absolutely crazy.
The fact sunk in, The Exploited still play ‘F*** A Mod’, still play their foul little creation, still spit the same vile tribalist venom they always have done. Don’t the Exploited realise people get hurt, killed even, over pathetic hatred-mongering trash like this? Don’t they? Of course they do, it’s just that what we’d call violence, they’d call anarchy . . . What a sorry waste.
A had night for punk, a bad night for the Exploited. But which of the two will be the first to die? A nation waits. (Winston Smith)
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