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I could never have believed
that this new incarnation of the legendary SHAM 69 would kick so much
arse in 60 mins. Smash it up attitude and the power vocals of the new
singer Tim V takes me back to my youth. The album is by true definition
the taste of the old SHAM 69 which we knew and loved. The vocal talents
of Tim V and his 'genuine' Cockney accents rather bizarrely put Jimmy
Purseys to shame. The talents of Purseys old songwriting partner Dave
Parsons have been sadly overlooked in the past, but with classic tracks
like I WANT GLORY and WESTERN CULTURE their soon to be Euro release, we
can only say that the good times are back. This line of SHAM 69 has truly
put the past 10 years behind them and have found a new cause for the kids
of today. LONG LIVE SHAM 69!!! These guys are of course legends,
formed in 1975/1976 they were one of the first real Punkbands and probably
the first Oi! band, because a whole new subgenre followed after they had
released classic Oi! singles like "Borstal Breakout”, "Angels With Dirty
Faces" (reaching number 19 in the UK charts in May 1978), "If The Kids
Are United" (number 9 in July 1978) and "Hurry Up Harry" (number 10 in
October 1978). With that much success the band performed at famous TV
shows like ‘Top of the Pops’ back then and their popularity began to rise
until Punk was starting to die. Around the early 80s the band split up,
but towards the end of the 80s they reformed and in the 90s new albums
were released, although they never reached the level of their classic
1978 debut ‘That’s life’. In 2006 there was a new highlight in the career
of SHAM 69, because they recorded a song to support the England national
football team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The song was based on the classic
SHAM 69 hit "Hurry Up Harry", with the lyrics "We're going down to the
pub", changed to "We're going to win the cup!". The resulting single "Hurry
Up England" reached number 10 in the UK Top 40, becoming the band's first
such hit for over 26 years. However the success still split the band and
with a new singer (Tim V instead of original singer Jimmy Pursey) SHAM
69 now released a new CD titled ‘Western culture’. 12 songs in classic
SHAM 69 punkrockstyle, with less rawer vocals and of course not as good
as their classic material, this album still offers enough great tunes
for the legacy of SHAM 69. More melodic and with songs like “No apologies”,
“I want glory”, “New York City” and “Hollywood hero” showing real classic
late 70s UK Punkrock never died. . . . . . and the dickhead
who didn't do his homework (bottom of the class for you my lad) |
2007. 30 years ago the Sex Pistols
took the world by storm putting the world of punk rock on the front pages
of the international press. 30 years of mohawks, of safety pins, of bondage
pants. 30 years ago Sham 69 released their debut ep "I Don't Wanna". 30
years of work shirts, of cropped hair, of Dr.Marten boots. Taking the elitist,
middle class punk sound and style, and taking it to the streets and the
roots level. 2007. The new Sham 69 album, "Western Culture" is released.
With a line-up change bound to surprise many, they are sounding fresher
than they have done for a long, long time. Their first real record for over
ten years, proving that the band is back to stay! In this day and age of
processed plastic Punk SHAM 69 has laid dormant and inactive. Once the forerunners
of what we now call the street punk movement, SHAM 69 has been hailed by
100's of bands worldwide as their biggest influence. The ONLY British punk
band to have had 8 top ten hits in the UK and 5 top 10 hits on USA's Billboard
it has come a long way. The SHAM 69 album "Western Culture" is a by-product
of doing what SHAM 69 used to do and that's listening to the fans. The fans
want good real 'meat and potato' music that reflects how they are and feel.
8/10: “After spending far too
long lounging in the doldrums of a nostalgic sham, the ‘kids’ appear to
be firmly back on track and united once more. It’s ten years since the
last album, but the appeal of ‘Western Culture’ is so immediate, all is
forgiven. Well, what’s ten years between punks, after all. ‘No Apologies’,
‘I Want Glory’ and ‘I Don’t Believe A Word’ are classic Sham anthems to
rival all that’s gone before, with this new-found lease of life showing
Jimmy Pursey hasn’t been missed in the slightest (although he co-wrote
the bulk of these songs with Dave Parsons). This excellent album proves
Sham are most definitely back!” When you reel off the list
of punk bands who were there from the start, Sham 69 don't get many mentions.
Formed in 1975, the same year as the Sex Pistols, and despite having very
little influence on hardcore, or modern punk, or just about anybody else
for that matter, they're probably the group who've stayed truest to their
belief in punk these last thirty years. They still don't sell too many
records, they still write big, dumb rock songs and they still don't give
a f**k. 'But not enough of old men
on guitars. I thought it was a sham when Club Midway announced they booked
Sham 69, but alas, shortly after midnight they took the stage at New Yorks
truest punk rock club and dished out all the old hits: If the Kids Are
United, Hey Little Rich Boy, Borstal Breakout, Hersham Boys and what have
you. They, that is to say, did not include Jimmy Pursey, who left the
band in 2006. After last night's show we think the lineup with Whitewood
and Dave Parsons, who wrote all those songs, are the real thing, also
with the hilariously self-effacing Tim V on vocals. There could have been
a bigger crowd for this punk rock legend, considering all the attention
punk gets in the media and from the hipsters again. Dudes, you really
missed this one. |