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Archive for the ‘Crass’ Category

The Ignorant Tour 2020 – Steve Ignorant and full band performing Crass songs

Posted in Crass, Steve Ignorant on July 26, 2019| 2 Comments »

Poster for the Ignorant Tour 2020

STEVE IGNORANT IS heading out on tour next year to perform a set of Crass songs, back by a full band.

Back in November 2007, Ignorant attracted some controversy when he put together a band to present a live version of The Feeding of the 5000 at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire with a backing band of guest musicians. In 2010, Ignorant attracted both criticism and enthusiastic support when he announced plans for an international tour, which would take songs from across the Crass catalogue out on the road.

That tour concluded in 2011, with Ignorant declaring that The Last Supper performance in London on 19 November (at which he was joined on stage by Penny Rimbaud and Eve Libertine) would be the last time that he would play Crass songs on a stage.

Since then, whilst performing with Slice of Life and Paranoid Visions, Ignorant has continued to weave selected Crass songs into the live set – in a semi-acoustic way with Slice of Life and in full-on punk rock style with Paranoid Visions (such as at the Rebellion festival in 2017).

This latest news about Ignorant’s plans in relation to the Crass canon does not appear to have attracted much in the way of critical reaction, and it appears that there’s a great deal of interest in acquiring tickets for the shows, which are now available to purchase online. Confirmed dates so far are:

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Friday 3 April 2020

Newcastle University Students Union, Newcastle
Saturday 4 April 2020

The 100 Club, London
Friday 17 April 2020 [buy tickets direct from the 100 Club]

Concorde 2, Brighton
Saturday 18 April 2020

Club Academy, Manchester
Friday 24 April 2020

Scotland Calling Festival, O2 Academy, Glasgow
Saturday 25 April 2020

The 100 Club listing provides more details about the upcoming tour, and reports that further dates will be forthcoming:

Steve will be starting his Tour in April 2020 in the UK and will then take it to the continent and the rest of the world. He’ll be performing Crass songs 1977-1984 with some Ignorant classics with his band.

It also confirms the line-up for these tour dates as:

  • Steve Ignorant (vocals)
  • Carol Hodge (vocals) [Slice of Life]
  • Pete Wilson (lead guitar) [Slice of Life]
  • Pete Rawlinson (bass guitar) [Slice of Life]
  • Jay Bagnall (drums) [Paranoid Visions]

Shot in 2011, the short video below sees Ignorant reflecting on the upcoming final show of The Last Supper tour.

 

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“Say you want a revolution” – Crass feature in UNCUT magazine

Posted in Crass, Press on January 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Crass - Uncut magazine - 2019
 
THE MARCH 2019 issue of Uncut magazine includes a new feature on Crass in which the “DIY punk politicos tell their amazing story”.

An online promotional preview for the issue includes the commentary:

Not many bands are involved in front page exposés over episodes of international espionage, but not many bands were like Crass. The band were the product of a unique confluence of people, place and time, punks who lived like hippies and wrote aggressive songs about politics. They recorded five albums between 1978 and 1983 as well as a related body of films, publications and artworks and at times were less a band than “an information bureau”, says Steve Ignorant. “Everything serious or heavy that went on, we felt we had to be saying something about it.”

Crass - Uncut - March 2019

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Crass Best Before BBC Breakfast

Posted in Crass, Press on June 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Rowetta Idah of The Happy Mondays appeared on a feature on this morning’s (27 June 2018) BBC Breakfast news show on BBC One, discussing the past and future of the compact disc format.

Amongst the handful of personal CD favourites that she brought in from the collection she plays in the car was the Crass compilation Best Before.

Best Before - BBC Breakfast

Charlie Stadt. “You see, I’m not familiar with this.”

Rowetta : “Crass. They were my favourite band when I was a kid. So I love this. And I’ve got Stations of the Crass at home, that I play on vinyl. This is my favourite CD of theirs.”

The replay of this morning’s show is only available on the BBC iPlayer until 09:15 on 28 June 2018, and the segment starts at around 08:44 on the show’s timeline.

Credit to Martin Hardy who spotted, and Graham Burnett who shared information about, this.

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The Thatchergate Tape revisited in BBC One’s One Show

Posted in About anarcho-punk, Crass, Sources on April 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

On BBC One’s early evening magazine show The One Show yesterday evening (25 April 2018), Jon Culshaw presented a short retrospective feature on The Thatchergate Tape, the hoax telephone conversation between Thatcher and US president Reagan produced and circulated to the media by members of Crass in the aftermath of the Falklands War (recordings and transcripts of the tape are available online). There were no new revelations in the piece, but the feature includes a brief interview with Steve Ignorant and even briefer live footage of Crass (taken, as always, from the Persons Unknown documentary).

Viewers in the UK can catch-up with a recording of the show of the BBC iPlayer (until 25 May 2018).

Thatchergate - Culshaw

Thatchergate - Ignorant

Thatchergate - tape extract

Thatchergate - academic

Thatchergate - extract

Thatchergate - Crass

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Exitstencil Press publishes International Anthem collection

Posted in Crass, Fanzines, Gee Vaucher, Press, Publishers on March 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »

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EXITSTENCIL PRESS HAVE now published the eagerly awaited complete collection of International Anthem magazine.

The first issue of International Anthem (a ‘nihilist newspaper for the living’) was put together by Gee Vaucher in 1977-78, when she was living and working in Manhattan, New York, as newly formed punk band Crass began to emerge from the rehearsal space at Dial House.

This soft-bound, full-size collection brings together the full contents of all five issues, including rough early drafts of the never-before-published issue four (‘Ireland’) and issue five (‘War’).

The book includes a brief introduction by Vaucher, and a short scene-setting contextual explanation for each issue (together with a timeline of political events for the year of publication).

The complete International Anthem can be ordered direct from the Exitstencil Press site.

Created from 1978-1982 by Gee Vaucher, International Anthem came into existence as a vehicle for Vaucher’s own work and that of friends who she felt had something worthwhile to share. Amongst others, these included Penny Rimbaud, Eve Libertine and Steve Ignorant… Overall, they represent, and are the realisation of, a dream that Vaucher had carried throughout her early years as a political artist.

International Anthem - collection - Exitstencil Press - cover

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Exitstencil Press working on International Anthem collection

Posted in Crass, Gee Vaucher, Penny Rimbaud on October 26, 2017| 1 Comment »

EXITSTENCIL PRESS ARE planning to republish all issues of International Anthem (the ‘nihilist newspaper for the living’ first produced by Gee Vaucher in 1977) in book format. Three issues were produced between 1977 and 1980.

In the pipeline – A publication that brings together the five International Anthems (published and unpublished) made between 1978-1982, into one book. This will hopefully be available towards the end of the year. International Anthem was created by Gee Vaucher as a vehicle for her own work and that of friends including, Eve Libertine, Penny Rimbaud, Dave King.

International Anthem - issue one

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Penny Rimbaud talks punk lyrics with Murray Lachlan Young

Posted in Crass, Penny Rimbaud on October 26, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Punk Lyrics with Murray Lachlan Young

PENNY RIMBAUD APPEARED ON BBC Radio 6 this weekend discussing the lyrics of punk with British poet Murray Lachlan Young and punk magazine editor Kirsty Allison.

The playlist featured a wide array of punk artists, and includes the Crass tracks ‘Punk is Dead’, ‘End Result’, ‘Fight War Not Wars’, ‘Bloody Revolutions’, ‘Yes Sir I Will’ [extract] Jeffrey Lewis’ cover version of ‘Where Next Columbus?’ and Penny Rimbaud, Kate Short and Liam Noble performing ‘Anthem For The Doomed Youth’ from the forthcoming What Passing Bells: The War Poems of Wilfred Owen

British poet Murray Lachlan Young takes a lyrical look at the world of punk.

He’s joined in the studio by Penny Rimbaud who co-founded the Anarcho-punk band Crass in 1977.

Punk poet, DIY club runner and punk magazine editor Kirsty Allison will also join in the discussion.

Punk lyrics with Murray Lachlan Young was first broadcast on 22 October, and in the UK is available on the BBC iPlayer until 21 November 2017.

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