MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Jimmy Pursey
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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Sham 69
O2 Academy, London
AFTER years of varied and disputatious line-ups, these days the real Sham 69 appear in more or less their classical form, with Dave Parsons on guitar, Dave Tregunna on bass, Robin Guy on drums and, of course, Jimmy Pursey on vocals.
Pursey, in his mid-sixties and looking more like a vexatious hound dog than ever, retains the fervent charisma that has long made him one of punk’s most exciting frontmen, while Parsons, fit, lean and sharp, still commands attention by his side.
With the flamboyant Guy assaulting the drums and Tregunna intense beneath his baseball cap, Sham serve up a ferocious set that’s surprisingly refreshing even though it’s based around songs that first saw the light of day more than 40 years ago.
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