SPP-Presents: S*M*A*S*H / Dirt Royal / Young Francis

SPP-Presents: S*M*A*S*H or SMASH

A top night in Brighton. Three exciting bands, including a one man punk band, Young Francis, Dirt Royal and headliners S*M*A*S*H. SPP-Presents is a Music Promoter based in Brighton UK. SPP-Presents mainly covers the South Coast,and London areas.

Scroll down for a S*M*A*S*H video! Scroll down for Dirt Royal and Young Francis!

S*M*A*S*H

“For those Britpop fans not aware of S*M*A*S*H you can be forgiven. The band were never really part of the Britpop scene as such, along with These Animal Men they formed the backbone of the genre described as New Wave of New Wave. This minor scene was doing it’s thing under the radars of the general public but documented by the weekly music press around the time that Britpop exploded into life. S*M*A*S*H did appear on Top of the Pops once playing Shame which technically wasn’t even released as a single but part of an EP. They were first band to achieve this.”

The B*a*n*d

I seemed to have missed these guys when they launched, but have since caught up on their music and history. People I knew in the crowd knew all about these guys and told me how big they were, and just how big they should have been.

Ed Borrie on vocals and guitars has always been an amazing front-man, and let me tell you he has lost non of it! His guitar playing was superb, backed with that voice that has got such a particular sound and he gave a great performance. Simon Parry on bass was all over the stage, menacing the front rows of the crowd with the head stock of his bass. The bass fully supporting the sound of the band and of course Rob Hague who was sat at the back bathed in the fierce red light, but working real hard on his kit. A great job. We saw Paul Kimmett on keyboards tonight. An interesting and great addition to S*M*A*S*H. Some great synth sounds and Paul dropping in sound samples to fill and complete the sound.

S*M*A*S*H were the headlining act of the night. We had waited, the near capacity crowd had waited and they took to the stage at The Prince Albert. They were greeted with a warm cheer, a polite and appreciative lot we are!

Steve from SPP – Presents said “It had been many years since I had seen S*M*A*S*H play and we were excited and proud to have them play for us. Stunning sound and performance from them as they delivered the new LP and some classic songs. Such lovely Fellas too!” I totally have to agree with Steve. The guys were friendly, up for a chat and for some photos (thanks guys!) and a great hour of live music.

The S*E*T

Ed, as soon as he got into position told us they were going to play some new stuff of their latest album and some older classics. The set opened up with a latest release from the new album Goodbye W.G.C., “Art Therapy”, “Erin”, “Hedy Lamarr” into “I Thought I Was Right” “My Father” and other tracks from the album but live! “Blondes and Guns” pretty much closed that part of the set. Paul left the stage “milk and two sugars?” he asked the band. He told me that some early S*M*A*S*H music was coming up and he wasn’t playing on those songs.

A V*I*D*E*O:

A small video montage from the set.

A tricky one – the Albert red LED lighting is always difficult to shoot in.

Indeed, we were treated to 7 or 8 older tracks finalising with the anthem “I Wanna Kill Somebody”, and that was it. All over. Brighton was in the path of the biggest electrical storm for years, but these guys generated far more crackling electricity in the hot, packed out, Prince Albert than what was being created outside. A stunning performance masterclass from S*M*A*S*H. The set they gave us was a times slow and melodic and then would be stepped up to a new new wave crescendo. It was a rare opportunity to see this band and everyone there enjoyed the gig. If you get the chance to see S*M*A*S*H live – take it and go see what all the fuss is about. Brilliant!

Dirt Royal

Brighton band Dirt Royal were well up for this gig, chatting to them after the soundcheck, Charlie, Leon and Loz, were really excited about this gig. They were prepping for a 40 minutes set just before they head off across the UK on a tour. They were riding high on the release of their new 4 track single “Waiting For The Radio” and the release of the accompanying video. They had received some great radio play and listener responses to the song.

Dirt Royal really were on top form and played some new songs with their usual energy and chat – with a touch of banter. They kicked off their set with “Waiting For The Radio”, new material was fired at us with the classics such as “Dr Weekend”, “It Was You” and more. They also performed, with an introduction surmising the mood of many as the general election approaches, the crowd pleaser “Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down”. As I say the guys were really were up for it and they delivered giving the large audience a taste of what Dirt Royal is all about. A stunning show which no doubt got them some new fans of the band and their music.

A video

A mix up from Dirt Royal, includes a snippet from the latest single release “Waiting For The Radio”

Young Francis

At last Young Francis! We meet! I have been trying to see him for ages but calendar clashes prevented me from seeing him. Had a great chat pre gig about a passion of ours, The Ramones. Young Francis opened the night for SPP-Presents. He introduces himself as a “”One Man Punk Band”, a great stripped back and pure sound and energy. He is an artist to see if you get the chance. He took to the stage with his guitar, and a drum kit. He produced a great sound with his infectious 2 minute ( a la Ramones) Garage/ Punk songs.

I think it safe to say Young Francis was having a ball! He was relaxed and smiling as he powered his unique sound at us. He stopped only once and that was to hand out percussion instruments along with cymbals and tambourines for an audience participation slot. Nice touch! I really enjoyed this first meeting with Young Francis.

A Video:

Young Francis performing live.

And Finally

It was a great night, and so good to see other bands and musicians in the large crowd enjoying the SPP-Presents night. This was only their third event but, like the first events, it was well organised with a great choice of bands. I had a blast and even stepping out into the major thunder storm didn’t dampen my spirits. I made some new friends, heard some great music and that is what going out to see live music is all about. So use my hashtag #keepmusiclive!

S*M*A*S*H are on Facebook
Dirt Royal are on Facebook
Young Francis is on Facebook

SPP-Presents is on Facebook

STOP THE PRESS!

S*M*A*S*H are playing in London!

A new date for this great band has surfaced. S*M*A*S*H will be playing at “Rockaway Beach” in London, Hope and Anchor. Here is a pic of Ed (S*M*A*S*H) and Timmy DeRella (The DeRellas) holding up some promo artwork for Rockaway Beach at the recent Brighton gig.

For details of this Rockaway Beach night – head over to the event page on Facebook

Please note all images / video are copyright, please do not copy (not CD artwork) . If any of the featured artists/promoters/venues want copies of the images – or more if available – please just get in touch.

All original pictures – copyright to IANB/MEDIA WORKS/ SCENE SUSSEX – Ian “The Lens” Bourn 2017.

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