Dave The Punk

The King Blues

The Underworld, Camden – 22nd August 2026

Back in 2008, I went to Brighton to see one of my favourite bands, Pittsburgh punks Anti-Flag. But by the end of the night, it was the support band I couldn’t stop thinking about.

I was completely blown away by a young band called The King Blues. I’d never heard of them before, but by the end of their set I was hooked. The very next day I went out and bought their debut (and, at the time, only) album, Under The Fog. I’ve seen them many times over the years, but I hadn’t seen them since 2017.

Until last night.

Eighteen years and seven albums after that first encounter, I was crammed into The Underworld in Camden watching Itch — punk rock poet and rowdy little bastard — fronting a new King Blues line-up.

No nostalgia act. No polite trawl through the old favourites. Itch still has that slightly unhinged energy that made me take notice back in 2008, and the new line-up hit the songs with enough venom to make nine years suddenly feel like a very long time to have stayed away.

The King Blues are back.

And judging by the state of The Underworld last night, I wasn’t the only one who’d missed them.

Rebellion Festival

Winter Gardens, Blackpool – 6th-9th August 2026

Four days, a frankly ridiculous number of bands, plenty of beer and the traditional late-night diet of chips & gravy – Rebellion 2026 is done.

I somehow managed to squeeze in 33 bands on Thursday, 32 on Friday and 34 on Saturday, which left me sitting on 99 by the end of Day 3. So on Sunday I headed in early with one very important mission: get band number 100 under my belt. Century completed, I celebrated in the obvious way — with a stick of Rebellion rock and, more importantly, a sit down — before making a start on the second hundred.

There were far too many highlights to list them all, although Pizzatramp, Club Brat, Citizen Fish, Random Hand, The Outcasts and Spizz Energi all stood out along the way. Then on Saturday night The Restarts turned up and blew pretty much everyone else away. Sunday brought the usual Rebellion problem of impossible clashes, including Discharge against The Members, The Dickies against UK Decay, and the particularly cruel choice between One Way System, Stiff Little Fingers and Ruts DC.

It was exhausting, chaotic and completely brilliant. There were beers with old friends, plenty of new discoveries, aching feet, ringing ears and enough chips & gravy to see me through until next year. And, because watching that many bands apparently wasn’t enough work, I then came home and had to sort through all the photos.

If you played at Rebellion this year, there’s a very good chance you’ll find yourself somewhere below.

Day 1 – Thursday

Thrown Away, Hagar The Womb, The Liarbilitys, Smoking Fingers, Dog Rotten, Menace, Noose, The Dollheads, Minimal Faff, Ramona’s Tea Party, Dead Dates, The Good The Bad and The Zugly, Popes of Chillitown, Foreign Legion, Bar Stool Preachers, Be N!ce, Bad Cop Bad Cop, Grail Guard, Zion Train, The Drowns, UK Subs, Steve Ignorant Band Crass Set, Ex-, The Adolescents, Bite Back, Pizzatramp, The Bolokos, Bow Wow Wow, The Mob, Riot City Radio, Vomit, Buzzcocks, Millie Manders & The Shutup.

Day 2 – Friday

Covid 21, Rumkicks, Fantazmaz, 50 Foot Woman, Club Brat, Split Dogs, Unrivalled, Catfight, Rivalry, Citizen Fish, Critical Candy, Bullitz 23, Meryl Streek, TV Smith & The Bored Teenagers, Otway & Barrett, Defused, The Kids, Baby Seals, Goldblade, A Murder of Crows, Random Hand, The Skeptix, Guitar Gangsters, Eater, Lena Lovich, The Boys, The Cult Maniax, Deaf Devils, The Rezillos, Bite Me Bambi, The Business, Screaming Dead.

Day 3 – Saturday

Voodoo Radio, Bambees, Spunk, Diaz Brothers, I, Doris, Los Fastidios, Skint Knees, Hung Like Henratty, 999, Dead Pollys, Paranoid Visions, Wrex, The Outcasts, Subhumans, Chron Gen, Grippers, The Jungles, Deadline, Ruts DC, Nothing Thrives, Spunk Volcano & The Eruptions, River Rats, Salford Jets, Spizz Energi, The Attack, Pussyliquor, Cockney Rejects, The Chameleons, Dave Formula & Noko, Resistance 77, Notsensibles, Penetration, The Restarts, Rubella Ballet, Disorder.

Day 4 – Sunday

Violet Violet, Segregates, All Coasted, Dash!, Hex Poseur, Rat Hole, On The Huh, Gaydar, Spizzology, Millie Manders, Choking Susan, Las Fokin Biches, Thwack!, Chelsea, Oorya, Threats, Witch Spit, Culture Shock, MC16, Wokerati Party, Cro-Mags, Attila & Otway, Black September, Breakup Haircut, Discharge, The Members, Whoremones, Total Chaos, Hawxx, The Dickies, UK Decay, Dirt Box Disco, One Way System, Stiff Little Fingers, Ruts DC.

The Missing Member

Dead Pioneers

Green Door Store, Brighton – 14th July 2026

It was a real privilege to see Dead Pioneers for a second time, and even more so that they brought their tour to Brighton.

Petrol Girls kicked the evening off with their trademark blast of controlled chaos. Loud, fierce and overflowing with energy, Ren Aldridge commanded the room as the band delivered another uncompromising set that blurred the line between punk gig and protest rally. They never do things by halves.

When Dead Pioneers took the stage, they showed once again why they’re one of the most important bands around right now. Their songs don’t just entertain; they challenge, provoke and force you to think. Gregg Deal’s presence is magnetic, mixing sharp humour with hard truths as the band tore through a set that never let up.

What stands out is how naturally the politics and the music fit together. Nothing feels forced or preachy. Every lyric, every riff and every moment serves the same purpose, creating something that is both intensely personal and universally relevant.

Brighton gave them a warm welcome, and they gave plenty back. In a world where too much music plays it safe, Dead Pioneers continue to prove that punk still has something important to say.

We Are Not Devo

Lewes Con Club, Lewes – 6th June 2026

Some tribute bands play the songs. Others recreate the experience. We Are Not Devo, the UK’s only DEVO tribute act, does the latter.

From the moment they walked on stage in the iconic yellow suits and red Energy Domes, it felt less like watching a tribute act and more like stepping into a DEVO concert. Every detail was there. The movements. The mannerisms. The stage presence. Even the little quirks that only genuine fans would notice.

The attention to detail was remarkable. During Satisfaction, the guitarist even played a left-handed with the guitar flipped upside down, complete with duct-taped effects pedals attached to the body, just like Mark Mothersbaugh.

Across two sets they delivered an impressive 25-song setlist packed with DEVO classics and fan favourites. The sound was spot on, the energy never dipped, and the crowd clearly loved every minute of it.

They may be called We Are Not Devo, but for two hours they were close enough to fool almost anyone.

UK Subs

Lewes Con Club, Lewes – 3rd May 2026

Lewes Con Club doesn’t do pretence. It’s one of those venues where you’re close enough to feel every note, every shout, every bead of sweat. A 60-minute round trip for me this time, which felt almost surreal after last month’s 12-hour Wembley mission. No trains, no queues, no logistics spreadsheet… just straight in and straight to the bar.

Opening the night, Club Brat were anything but a gentle start. They came on like a band determined to leave a dent, throwing out a jagged, noisy set that never quite sat still.

What really landed was their take on Uncontrollable Urge by Devo. Not an obvious choice for a punk support slot, but it absolutely worked. They didn’t just play it, they dragged it through their own chaotic filter and made it feel like it belonged in that room, on that stage, at that moment.

Messy in all the right ways, loud without apology, and properly engaging. A cracking start.

Second time seeing Guitar Gangsters, and they didn’t disappoint. They’ve got that sweet spot nailed. Proper songs, big hooks, and just enough edge to keep it firmly in punk territory.

Definitely a band that gets better every time you see them.

Then came the main event. UK Subs doing what they do best.

A 22-song set that didn’t let up. No filler, no faffing about, just a relentless run through their catalogue delivered with the kind of authority that only comes from decades of doing it for real.

Charlie Harper still commands the room like it’s second nature. No gimmicks, no nostalgia act vibes, just proper punk played properly. The crowd knew it too. Plenty of voices joining in, plenty of movement, and that shared sense that this is exactly what a night like this should feel like.

The Damned

Wembley Arena, London – 11th April 2026

Last night at Wembley Arena felt less like a gig and more like a full-blown pilgrimage. A 12-hour round trip, rolling back through the front door sometime after 2am, but the kind of night that makes sleep feel optional. Pre-gig rituals were observed properly: burger, beers, and a catch-up with my punk rock besties. So good, in fact, that we completely sacrificed the first two support bands. No regrets there, just a sign that the night had already started exactly right.

We made it in for The Loveless, who, if I’m being honest, didn’t quite win me over. But they were just the holding act for what we were really there for. When The Damned hit the stage at 9pm, the place snapped into focus. The first half leaned into their darker, more gothic side. Brooding, atmospheric, and a reminder that this band has always had more depth than the average three-chord assault.

Then came that shift. “Smash It Up” dropped like a starter’s pistol and suddenly the pit came alive, bodies moving like it was still 1979 rather than 2026. A brilliantly tongue-in-cheek Pearl & Dean style interlude split the set, before they tore into the punk anthems that built their legacy. Raw, fast, and delivered with the kind of energy bands half their age would kill for.

Forty-seven years after I first saw them as a wide-eyed 14-year-old, this wasn’t nostalgia. This was proof. The Damned are still right there, still delivering, still dragging crowds into the chaos. And honestly, what more could you want than that?

The Muzztones

The Clissold Arms, London – 27th March 2026

A five-hour round trip for a covers band… on paper, that sounds questionable. In reality, it was anything but.

The Muzztones had The Clissold Arms bouncing from the off. A packed room, a buzzing crowd, and a 22-song set fired out with zero let-up. No coasting, no filler, just wall-to-wall classics played loud, tight, and like they actually meant it. And in a pub steeped in The Kinks history, that felt especially fitting. Proper pub gig energy. Sweat, noise, and a room that didn’t want it to end.

It also doubled as a bit of an Esprit de Corpse reunion. Luke (The Muzztones), Gary, and yours truly all in the same room, tied together by old roots and loud music. It gave the night that extra edge you don’t get at just any gig.

Dead Pioneers

The Underworld, Camden – 1st March 2026

Dead Pioneers hit Camden with purpose. Blending hardcore punk with Indigenous resistance politics, their set was less about nostalgia and more about confrontation. Fronted by activist Gregg Deal, the band take aim at colonial myths, racism and the sanitised version of American history that still gets exported worldwide.

The most striking visual was an upside-down US flag draped over an amp, marked with the words: “Never Surrender, Resistance Since 1492.” Hung in distress, it reframed patriotism through the lens of Indigenous survival. Not empty shock value, but a clear statement of historical resistance.

Musically it was tight, direct and uncompromising. A highlight came when Ren Aldridge of Petrol Girls joined them for a couple of tracks, having already appeared earlier with support act Yakkie. Fierce, urgent and unapologetic, Dead Pioneers proved punk can still say something that matters.

GBH

Hope & Ruin, Brighton – 13th February 2026

Brighton got absolutely flattened last night as GBH rolled in from Birmingham and delivered a full-throttle masterclass in how punk should sound, feel, and hit you square in the chest.

A relentless 22-song set packed with classics from start to finish, no filler, no let-up, just raw energy and pure noise the way it was meant to be. The pit never really stopped moving, and neither did the band. Tight, loud, and completely unapologetic.

They wrapped the night with a ferocious cover of Motörhead’s Bomber, which landed like a final explosive statement and sent everyone out buzzing.

Support came from Brassick and Violent Solution, both bringing serious bite and setting the tone perfectly for what followed.

Sweaty, loud, and gloriously chaotic. Exactly what a punk gig should be.

Skids

Chalk, Brighton – 31st January 2026

2026 kicked off exactly where it should: down the front, volume up, history alive and kicking.

The Skids celebrating The Absolute Game wasn’t a nostalgia exercise, it was a reminder. Those songs still snap, still surge, still sound like they’ve got unfinished business. Forty-odd years on and they didn’t sound polite, careful, or museum-ready. They sounded urgent.

Au Pairs were the perfect choice of support: angular, political, uncomfortable in all the right ways. Music that makes you lean in rather than lean back.

One gig in and the tone is set. This year isn’t about reliving the past. It’s about bands who refuse to behave, refuse to fade, and refuse to shut up.

2026 has entered the pit.