A rare occurrence happened at an outdoor event for the Sex Pistols return to Scotland – it didn’t rain.
And so Holidays In The Sun was the perfect opener for their front-man Frank Carter to grab his performance by the throat. Heavily tattooed in a black vest, flowing white shirt and Levi denims, he grabbed the mike stand and offered an immediately punchy vocal and stage performance.
The 41-year-old got close to hardcore fans down the front and chewed up the occasional negative comment from punk purists. No disrespect to John Lydon, who remains one of the greatest front-men of all time but this potential last run out for the Pistols is potent, especially during these cash-strapped times laced with a sense of injustice and danger from foreign governments.
Paul Cook hammered the kit while delivering his melodic drum style that suited the Pistols so well. To hear Steve Jones play the iconic riffs and licks from Never Mind The Bollocks nearly fifty years later is an absolute joy. Sid Vicious might have become the most iconic member of the band but it was Matlock who made an essential musical contribution to tracks such as Pretty Vacant. The backing vocals provided Jones, Cook and Matlock are vital to the sound and they are readily backed up by the crowd while Carter bounded up and down every inch of the Glasgow stage.
The mosh pit swirled in full flow during Bodies as fans were dragged over the barrier. God Save The Queen was amplified by the late Jamie Reed’s iconic imagery that featured on the 1977 single and an explosion of colour on the big screens. The ‘No Future’ sing-along ending is sublime. Cook, while drumming, looks out at the reaction with a massive smile on his face while savouring the moment. During No Fun, Steve Jones successfully recreates the unmistakable sound of his hero Mick Ronson nodding to Ziggy Stardust’s last concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973.
The set closer is what else but Anarchy In The U.K, the song has lost none of its rousing energy. Most fans in the park were youngsters in 1976 but despite arriving for this all day event in the afternoon they were energised and going for it right to the end.
It’s phantasmagoria of colour and exhilaration between the flashing big screens, the skies starting to bruise and fans going for it one last time. Steve Jones thanked the enthusiastic audience telling them they were ‘the best’ while looking very much in awe at the reaction of the fans, who continued singing as they headed home in their hundreds on a balmy summer night.
Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Punk All-Dayer, Bellahouston Park
