Reviews

I used to see them regularly back in the 1980's when they played Ipswich, and (luckily) when the little punk band I used to drum for supported them. Imagine what a dream come true it was for a band of four teenage punks to support their mates, The Adicts, at the 100 Club in London.

Ahhh, the memories come flooding back.

So, for a very good reason they decided they wouldn't play in their home town again. That was nearly 20 years ago. But for one night in November 2007, the boys came back for what was their homecoming gig.

And what a gig. There were so many old faces that I was almost transported back to a time of soapy spikes and bondage jeans (that was me, not them). There were even people I knew from Holland!

Being good friends with one of the road crew meant I was there for the soundcheck, which of course I was happy to help out with as Kid the drummer couldn't get there in time.

Wandering around the bar area was like a who's who of the old Ipswich punk crowd. Every couple of minutes there were cries of "Oh, My God" and "fancy seeing you here". I'm not sure the Town Hall staff knew what to make of the affair - the looks on some of their faces were classic. Let’s face it, most of them weren't even born the last time The Adicts played in our fair town.

Adicts' academy

Suspect Device and Red Flag '77 warmed the crowd up to a semi-frenzy.The Suspects with their excellent set of punk covers, despite Jon's rapidly disappearing voice due to something nasty in his throat.

Red Flag whipped through their set of, by now, well known classics. Rikki on top form, Fanny with his usual rock & roll posing, Kev with his “out of nowhere” guitar riffs, Micky keeping it going with his Strummer-esque chords, and as ever, Malcum Powder pounding away at the skins, keeping the whole thing together.

The Suffolk Droog action team

Then the intro to A Clockwork Orange reverberated around the majestic hall and everyone went rigid with anticipation. The opening guitar lick to Joker In The Pack made the swaying crowd go loopy and they were BACK!

The set was peppered with old Ippo faves like Just Like Me, Songs Of Praise, Tango and the ever popular Bad Boy, plus loads of lovely new stuff that we'd only heard on CD or at far away punk fests, and everyone was in top voice.

Mel Ellis and Scruff

Bad Girl saw a bevy of local ladies join the lads on stage for a bit of a boogie. It's the first time I've seen Scruff, my old bandmate, playing for them. I always knew he was an Adict at heart. Even when we were in Perfect Daze together. Domino Records supremo Laurence Bell also cut his music-industry teeth in the Daze.

Dan filled the sound out perfectly, complimenting the backline melodies on fiddle and keyboards. It wasn't long before the band, stage and crowd were covered in glitter, silly-string, confetti and streamers.

Seriously, I cannot stress how much Ipswich needed this gig. There may be a massive music scene here, but....well...those in the know will know what I mean.

Anyway, I could go on and on about this gig, but those who've seen the Adicts will know exactly what it was like. Those who haven't seen them, won't get what I mean unless they get to one of their gigs. One can only hope that they bring their own unique blend of punk and pure fun back to Ipswich again.

(All pictures taken by Dazzle Media. For more pictures visit the Flickr picture gallery.)