The first the best and the last sham 69 full#
The first the best and the last sham 69 plus#

The first the best and the last sham 69 plus#

My Dad played violin and was in several small orchestras throughout the war years, as there were always violins around the house I naturally graduated to it, I got to a reasonable standard on it but by the time I'd reached 12 or 13 I realised it really wasn't that cool, having seen a few films on TV where there would be a guest appearance by a band, I fell in love with the power of the guitar and saw my destiny.īefore co-writing classics such as ‘The Kids Are United’ and ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ were you in any other bands and did they promote a similar anti-establishment message to Sham 69?Īt the same time that Jimmy was playing locally I was in a band that I'd put together with school friends called Bobalouis playing the same small circuit of clubs and working men's clubs, we were playing mainly 60s stuff from The Kinks to the Stones, Beatles and The Who plus the odd stab at some of my first attempts at song-writing. My family were quite a musical lot, my Uncle grew up playing first as kids and then music with Pete Townshend's Dad, Cliff and Alfred Hitchcock's son who played piano accordion, Cliff played Sax and my Uncle played guitar - Cliff went on to form The Squadronaires and my Uncle had to decide on either music or science, he chose science. Is it true the first instrument you picked up was in-fact the violin? If so what was the catalyst for you putting down the bow and replacing it with a plectrum? First on our agenda was to discover whether or not if we had it correct that the first instrument the formidable guitarist ever played wasn't a guitar, but, in fact a violin. Before we got really going, Dave grabbed a banana from the band's rider, which featured a random assortment of beers, spirits and fruits. The longer we sat with Dave, the more pleasurable the experience become, as we discussed guitars, the band's history, plus his and Sham's extensive back catalogue of punk classics, it was obvious there was much to learn from the punk icon that was say beside us.

But we also try different things, different arrangements, take Borstal Breakout for example, sometimes we change it, which means we still get off on it.' We don't play a lot of gigs so every time we play we really look forward to it.'Īlthough when you can list classic tracks such as 'Hersham Boys,' 'Angels with Dirty Faces' and 'If The Kids Are United' as your own, surely anyone would enjoy playing them over and over, event the cheif riff maker himself? ' Well because we're not playing them night after night, we only played about 16 dates this year, and because every venue and crowd reaction can be different, I suppose the songs are kept fresh. Plus if we didn't feel a connection, if we were going out there and felt we weren't getting anything from the audience then we certainly wouldn't still be doing it.

The first the best and the last sham 69 full#

Perhaps you may be wondering who turns out for a Sham gig, is it just a room full of nostalgia seeking punk rockers looking to recapture their younger days? Well, if you think that, you couldn't be more wrong and if you consider everything Sham 69 stand for, then you shouldn't be surprised that the message they prescribed to in the 70s still connects with today's audiences and is just as relevant in 2017, ' In some respects, it's quite a sad thing that a lot of the anger which features in our music is still relevant, you would have thought by now there would be more optimism and things to look forward to, but unfortunately there isn't.

Little did we know, ' London is always a bit of a funny gig, you never quite know what to expect, it may only be one man and his dog kind of affair or the place might be rammed, you never quite know.' One date that did stand out in particular to Dave was the Tram Shed in Cardiff, which was in his own words, ' a fantastic gig and one of the best of the last ten years,' that, along with Swindon's MECA venue. However, all of the concerns we may have had were soon put to rest when a smiling Mr Parsons first entered, donning a pork pie hat and looking a good deal younger than his birth certificate would suggest.ĭespite the London born guitarist having spent the best part of the 40 years playing and touring as well as performing to sold out venues up and down the UK throughout 2016, one would think that a 'homecoming' show in the capital would be relatively straight forward for a band like Sham. On the final date of a hugely successful comeback tour for one of punk rocks defining acts, Sham 69, Gi had the great pleasure of meeting two of the three original members before the show began.Īs we sat in the dressing room of O2's Kentish Town forum a stream of thoughts run through our minds as to what to expect when meeting Dave Parsons for the first time, considering the somewhat abrasive history of the outfit he plays such a pivotal role in.