Live Review: Great British Alternative Weekend – Butlins Minehead 2020 (Sunday)

Sunday morning and it’s the first morning without sleet, gale force winds, rain and shivering temperatures. Unfortunately the blue sky doesn’t last for long. There’s a moment or two when you realise how respectful the community of people that attend this event are. Hung Like Hanratty are walking back to their apartment, Nat from Headstone Horrors is wandering along the path and strolling back from breakfast we pass Glen Matlock sitting on a bench, cap on head, having a quiet moment with a cigarette. No one is hassling them, no one asking for selfies with them. There’s no pretensions, bands and punters wander around as one, eat and drink in the same places. It’s a weekend where everyone is united just by music.

First band of the day The Ramonas are set to be on at 1330 and we gladly leave our room for the short walk up to the big top and then into Centre Stage where the crowd is a lot bigger than might be expected after a long long day of music and madness on Saturday, testament to a band that have excited people ever since the release of their original album “First World Problems” if some of the crowd were there hoping to hear Ramones songs, the 4 girls soon put that to bed and have all of the crowd bouncing along and enjoying songs that are not simply Rock’n’Roll tunes that thrash along at a tempo and are over in a flash, instead you get songs that sing about Animal Cruelty, Trump and of course 3rd world problems.  Lisa on vocal has so much stage energy that you wonder if she might explode at times, the whole experience is an amazing awakening for all who have turned out, and one this old punk will never forget! So glad it was the originals set! 

It’s a mid afternoon slot for From The Jam.  3.15pm and Centre Stage is packed. From The Jam do exactly what is expected of them, what they’ve always done and what people want them to do. Russell Hastings looks like Weller and sounds like Weller. Bruce Foxton hasn’t changed, just an extra wrinkle or two and he still teases those classic riffs out of his bass with all the energy he did 40 years ago. Close your eyes and you could be listening to The Jam live in 1981. Of course it’s a greatest hits show. What else would it be and, as they power through ‘Going Underground’, ‘Eton Rifles’, ‘Town Called Malice’, ‘Start’ and an encore with ‘In The City’ the place is bouncing. Properly bouncing. The floor at the front literally rising and falling in time with the dancing masses. But, and for some it’s a big but, despite Hastings announcing it’s taken them 5 hours to get here they play for only a little over 40 minutes. And not everyone is happy with some punters describing the performance as lacklustre. Fortunately the majority disagree and walk out happy.

Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies open the Introducing Stage. As well as two Dinnerettes providing crazy visual backups to each song and brushing the stage clean of various bits of debris Pete Bentham provides pure rock ‘n’ roll with clever, observant lyrics about modern day real life. ‘Goth Postman’, ‘Controlled By Buildings’ and ‘Queen Victoria’s Nob’ to mention a few. With hints of The Fall lyrically, spikey guitar riffs and dinner ladies dancing around the stage encouraging all to dance and sing they’re also socially aware, theatrical and full of dry, scouse humour. Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies will be a hard act to beat today.

And who do we find next up on this wonderful introducing stage, non other than Skegness main stage band The Blue Carpet Band, not sure how many of the audience this afternoon have been witness to this all guns blazing garage Rock’n’Roll set before, but an experience that they will not forget is about to explode on to the stage, Djamel the lead singer soon snaps his fingers and of we go for the ride, songs that transport you straight into any dark sleazy underground music club found anywhere on the planet, all the classic 50’s style from a front man who knows how to play to an audience and bring them into the show. Grungy Bluesy Rock at its dirtiest best.

Again the need to eat, a very natural human thing, wasting away is not something these music fans wish to happen, so off the the food hall we go, yes we miss SlagerJ  and yes we always regret not seeing all the bands.  Borrowed Time are the last of the day and of the whole weekend on the introducing stage, a rug sits in the middle of the stage and its purpose soon becomes clear when lead singer Rob Fletcher kicks off the socks and starts jumping around the stage, yes even punk rockers need to take care of their soft feet, this band have a sound that can only be described as having early 80’s punk influence, but 100% have their own sound too, songs that are heavy and thrash with the best of them, but also have melody sitting perfectly in there, a crowd pleaser and a spectacle to behold, a fitting end to the afternoon. 

Centre Stage’s evening entertainment opens with The Chords (misspelt ‘Cords’ on the big screens) and a cracking set of non-stop punky mod rock n roll. The Chords are in your face, fast, non-stop, energetic. After 40 years Chris Pope still leaps around like a 20 year old. This band don’t stay still for a second and their enjoyment of what they’re doing shines through. They draw a decent crowd who appreciate the addition to the line-up of a band that was part of the UK mod revival back in ’79 and still deliver the goods today. But for those present it seems a shame that Secret Affair, another mod-revival band from the exact same era, are playing in Reds at exactly the same time.  

The Boomtown Rats have divided opinions over recent years. Actually, frontman Bob Geldof has divided opinions over recent years, especially since his throwaway comment about black t-shirts at Rebellion a few years ago. But what cannot be denied is the energy, showmanship and superb songs the Rats deliver whenever they play live and tonight is no different. Centre Stage is packed and as Geldof announces their arrival on stage there’s a roar of excitement. Opening with two new songs – ‘Trash Glam, Baby’, the lead single from soon to be released first new album in 36 years, ‘Citizens Of Boomtown’ is followed with ‘Get A Grip’.  Geldof suggests a set consisting entirely of the new album before happily admitting that, with only an hour to play, they’d better do a greatest hits show. With four original members still present in the line-up (Geldof, Pete Briquette on bass, Simon Crowe on drums, and Gary Roberts on bass) those classic tracks from back in the day sound as good now as they always did. Geldof is rarely stationary preferring instead to pace relentlessly back and forth along the edge of the stage, at times kneeling and crawling. Even now he’s simply a ball of pent up energy and spends every second giving every song everything he’s got. Between songs there’s the usual quick witted, tongue in cheek banter taking the piss out off everything and anything that comes to his mind. But it’s the songs that matter, 13 of them crammed into their allocated slot – ‘..Modern’, ‘(She’s Going To) Do You In, ‘Mary…’, ‘Rat Trap’ and a poignant moment of silence, it’s significance sadly still lost on some of those present, during ‘Mondays’. With an encore of ‘Lookin’ After No.1’, the bouncing ‘The Boomtown Rats’ and a repeat of ‘Trash Glam, Baby’ just to hammer home the fact there’s a new album coming. Energy, anger, passion. The Boomtown Rats delivered them all in heaps.

All in all as like any music festival, choices have to be made, as with Sercret Affair being on at the same time as The Chords, we also had to spin the lottery wheel on The Blockheads and The Stiffs, who both clashed with The Boomtown Rats and The Rezillos respectfully.

So the final band of the weekend, what a band to end a festival with The Rezillos, glam pop, 60’s pizzazz and yes also down and dirty Rock’n’Roll, hit the stage to a rammed Reds, Faye Fife looking like she has just stepped out of a 60’s pop art store, Eugene Reynolds being the coolest of cool, what more do you need when your weekend has already been great, smashing out all the top songs that made them and still makes them a band to entertain “Destination Venus” Flying Saucer Attack” and “Cold Wars” being but a few, so many hits in fact, its hard to keep up. This is the first gig I personally have seen them without Jim Brody on Guitar, but Phil Marx takes this role on so well and your not disappointed.  By the last few songs, even though it pretty sure tiredness must be setting in, you certainly wouldn’t think it by the way they have the audience dancing and singing along. 

Like last year the weather down here has, on the whole, been shit. Rain, gales, sleet, cold with just the occasional glimpse of blue sky and sunshine. But it hasn’t dampened spirits. As always The Great British Alternative Music Festival, be it in Minehead or Skegness, provides a one of the best value festivals you’ll get all year. Excellent chalet accommodation, food to suit everyone, fantastic atmosphere, friendly, like-minded people who gather not only for the music but also to meet those they only see a couple of times a year. It’s probably one of the few events you could go to on your own but never feel lonely. Add in staff who are friendly, efficient, helpful and thirty six quality bands, many big names in the business there’s little not to like. 

Co Written By STEVE WHITE

All Photos By STEVE WHITE find them on his Flickr page

MARK CARTWRIGHT  Flickr page