Live Review: Putting The Fast In Belfast 2, Custom House Square, Belfast, 25th August 2018

The welcome return of Putting The Fast In Belfast to the heart of Belfast City Centre has brought a line up of four of the punk scene’s survivors to Northern Ireland’s capital city, one that is top and tailed by hometown acts The Defects and headliners Stiff Little Fingers with the welcome addition of two of the UK’s class of ’76, The Damned and Buzzcocks. The veteran quartet that make up today’s line up they have accumulated over 160 years of tours and releases between them, whilst none of today’s acts are still in their original form there is a healthy representation of those who were present at the dawn of the UK’s punk scene, including Terri Hooley a legendary figure in the original Belfast punk scene. There is always a social aspect to any punk show of this size and despite being far from my home turf I encounter familiar faces from across the UK and beyond throughout the day, including a welcome reunion with my co-writer from the Rebellion Festival, Peter Hough.

There’s a massive feeling of anticipation ahead of The Defects opening this show which is, frankly, as close to Belfast punk rock royalty as you’re going to get. It’s a curiously mixed crowd in Custom House Square, particularly as the local crowd is split between this and the Public Image Ltd and Undertones gig in nearby Bangor. It’s not just the 40/50-something first wavers either – there’s a good sprinkling of skins, goths and the young punk-curious here surely to experience the buzz of a living genre that has outlasted any expectation. “We are The Defects and we are from Belfast …” and crash bang wallop, straight into Hill Street. The Defects are playing to friends. Thousands of them. It’s a set tailored to the local audience too and if the sight of a copper’s hat from back in the day and a chant of “SS-RUC” rings a bit hollow these days, it’s still well-received by a hardcore of The Defects fans. The sound is spot on, the rain is staying off and there’s a lot of love for this home-grown straight ahead melodic punk. If The Defects are playing near you anytime ever, get some. Get a lot. rock and roll is definitely NOT dead tonight. Epic.

After The Defects Terri Hooley appears to be playing songs from the bands that are playing simultaneously in Bangor, some things can’t be coincidence in the randomly curated selection of songs that precedes the appearance of Manchester’s finest sons, Buzzcocks, Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle have a long established dysfunctional relationship that defies the years, the former seems almost reticent to acknowledge his role in punk history whilst the latter is clearly loving every second. Buzzcocks set list holds no surprises but would you have it any other way? They launch straight into Fast Cars, from here it’s a whistle stop tour of some of their finest moments, from Autonomy to Why She’s A Girl from A Chainstore, and a welcome You Say You Don’t Love Me, to their obvious punk classics they deliver a set that can’t be faulted, although personally I wish they’d played something from their underrated last release, 2014’s The Way, but other than that Buzzcocks remain one of punks original and best acts despite their advancing years and their finale of Ever fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) and Harmony In My Head sees Putting The Fast In Belfast well and truly kick into gear

From down the front you get a raucous crowd chorus to the punk classics that precedes the appearance of The Damned and fittingly for these creatures of the night they take the stage as the last light fades away. It has started raining – always a danger for an outdoor gig in in Belfast at any time of year. There’s a huge roar as The Damned take the stage. And rightly so – we’re straight into Love Song and Second Time Around to the delight of an ecstatic and vocal crowd. I Just Can’t Be Happy Today is dedicated to Terri Hooley, our MC for the day. There’s no gulf between then and now as the recent album gets an outing. Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow is rapturously received and demonstrates that this is a band that is alive and still vital. This is no nostalgia trip. Eloise is introduced as pop music, a nod perhaps to the chart success so deserved but rarely achieved. It also showcases The Damned at their theatrical best. The Captain is happy to proclaim that this gig has outsold a nearby rival show featuring Public Image Ltd  by five to one. And you can feel it – this is a show worthy of a venue twice as big. New Rose sends the crowd into a frenzy and morphs with barely a beat into Neat Neat Neat, closely followed by and a triumphant Smash It Up – what a fitting way to bring this punk communion to a close. Fantastic.

Stiff Little Fingers appearance is preceded by a mix of glam rock and reggae before their arrival is signified by AC/DC that precedes their traditional opener of Go For It belting out across Custom House Square, an opener that sees the crowd singing along before the band has even taken the stage. Stiff Little Fingers take the stage and after a brief acknowledgement of their hometown they launch into Wait And See, a prophetic song given the turn out for Putting The Fast In Belfast. Gotta Gettaway gets a chorus from the crowd that makes the PA redundant and you know that Stiff Little Fingers are beloved in their home town and by the time they launch into Nobody’s Heroes they have the crowd in the palm of their hands and they deliver a welcome tour through their back catalogue that visits pretty much every release in their extensive four decade existence.

Whilst many of their songs relate to Northern Ireland’s past they serve as a reminder to the futility of walls and borders, a message that’s underlined by the inclusion of Doesn’t Make It Alright, does any band In punk’s history convey this message more than Stiff Little Fingers, if there is I can’t think of one, and they conform this by referring to the shift to the right in world politics, with a special mention to Donald Trump as “the worlds biggest dickhead”. A turbocharged My Dark Places, from their most recent album, 2014’s No Going Back, is met with a heartfelt round of applause following Jake Burn’s plea for those suffering from mental trauma to seek support. The end of their set is of course a crowd pleasing set comprising of their best known songs that culminates in a raucous Tin Soldiers and a song that was never meant to be relevant forty years later, Suspect Device, before they return for Johnny Was and of course Alternative Ulster that the Belfast crowd’s reaction to, even though this is not my first time seeing Stiff Little Fingers In Belfast, is still something that takes your breath away.

With this now looking set to become an annual fixture on the city’s musical calendar, Putting the Fast in Belfast should give punk bands old and not so old an opportunity to play in front of a large and appreciative audience in one of the UK’s up and coming cities. And not just a local audience – there is clearly a relatively high proportion of out-of-towners in the city for the event, drawn by the opportunity to see punk rock royalty doing what they do best: short, sharp sets of blistering punk rock. With the much-loved Stiff Little Fingers flying the flag for the event, this should run and run. Best of all, proceeds benefit the Integrated Education Foundation, whose aim is to promote cross-community education: an important component of this region’s drive for mutual respect and understanding. Onwards to next year. Go for it!

Stiff Little Fingers website can be found here

The Damned‘s official website is here

Buzzcocks online presence is here

The Defects can be found on Facebook here

co-written by Peter Hough