Month: May 2015

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Rail Strikes in UK may affect skinheads getting to Brighton, please book national express buses as an option

URGENT NEWSFLASH!!!! IT LOOKS LIKE THE ‘WORKERS’ OF OUR RETARDED RAILWAYS ARE THINKING OF STRIKING ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE GREAT SKINHEAD REUNION, I UNDERSTAND THEY WANT TO JOIN US FOR A PISSUP, BUT THIS DOESN’T HELP OUR SKINHEADS GETTING TO BRIGHTON. SO MY BEST ADVICE IS TO USE NATIONAL EXPRESS BUSES, THESE RUN FROM ALL LONDON AIRPORTS AND LONDON VICTORIA, GET OFF AT POOL VALLEY, BRIGHTON, WHICH IS ABOUT 2 MINUTES FROM THE VENUE ON BRIGHTON SEAFRONT BOOK HERE http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

KEEP AN EYE ON THE NEWS REPORTS, HOPEFULLY, THE LAZY TWATS WILL AT LEAST SAVE THEIR HOLIDAYS UNTIL AFTER THE REUNION http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Punk Bands – Xtraverts

Xtr@verts biography; ‘Who sent the Boys’ ?

In late 1975 a massive shake up within the music industry was emerging and with this came a teenage driven musical revolution, soon to be known as PUNK ROCK.

If the ‘Kings Road London’ was the birthplace of punk then its younger brother the ‘London Road, High Wycombe’ was equally as important. The ‘Nags Head’ High Wycombe as a venue was every bit as important as the legendary ‘100 Club’ in Denmark Street, both were linked by one person and that was rock promoter Ron Watts. At the height of this revolution as Ron booked the likes of the ‘Sex Pistols’, ‘The Damned’, ‘The Clash’ and the ‘The Stranglers’ at both venues, teenagers in Buckinghamshire were being introduced to a major shift in youth culture many months before Punk erupted nationwide.

Mimicking its older London brother in every way in High Wycombe it seemed everybody under the age of 25 was becoming a punk rocker. Hippies had almost been eradicated and with turf wars between punks and teddy boys subsiding further combined with a revival of mod’s, rockers and skinheads the town’s local population was slowly having to accept this new ‘melting pot of anti- establishment’ youth culture.

Shortly after the now infamous Punk Festival of 1976 and the riotous Jubilee boat fiasco Ron Watts continued to book well known punk bands at Wycombe’s Town hall, it was always his policy to give local talent a chance to shine through. There was a vibrant local music scene emerging but with so much focus on London bands I believe there was one band that unfortunately went unnoticed.

………..this is the story of THE XTR@VERTS…………

As early as 1976, a good six months before ‘The Sex Pistols’ played the Nags Head, a group of mid-teens including Kris Jozajtis/guitar, Mark White/drums, Carlton Mounsher/bass, formed their own band ‘Deathwish’. Inspired by 60’s UK bands such as The Who, Small Faces and The Rolling Stones and later stateside offerings such as Iggy Pop and the Stooges, The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls.

‘Deathwish’ were soon playing their own brand of Punk Rock well before the term ‘Punk’ was even coined.

Their first gig caused a stir when a confused audience who had been expecting the usual hippie drivel turned violent and threw lit fireworks at them. The band had to be escorted from the venue by the police.

At Deathwish’s second gig an A&R rep from CBS came to check out the band following Ron Watts recommendation. Every bit as confused as the audience from the first gig, unfortunately he lacked the vision to sign them, but at least he didn’t throw anything at them, lit or otherwise !!! As fate would have it during the show an enigmatic youth with brightly coloured hair joined in singing with the band on stage, soon becoming lead vocalist, a certain Nigel Martin.

Nigel, influenced by ‘Roxy Music’ and ‘Bowie’ was always outrageously dressed, so Punk was a natural transition for him. Unfortunately High Wycombe didn’t have alot to offer fashion wise in the mid 70’s, except flares and platforms. There was a great Teddy boy shop called ‘Goddards’ which in fairness sold some great gear but that wasn’t enough, so he used to hang out at ‘SEX’, Malcolm McClaren’s shop at the top of the Kings Road with his punk mate ‘Marmite’, probably the first black punk with peroxide hair. (One time Marmite wore a transparent rubber jacket with goldfish swimming inside it..!!)

Nigel was photographed in Malcolm’s shop by ‘Honey’ magazine, standing out because he would get free crazy colour hairstyles at ‘Vidal Sassoon’s’ courtesy of Vivienne Westwood. Malcolm took the fee for the photoshoot and deducted half of the payment, explaining to Nigel that would cover his loss on the t-shirts which Nigel had previously been seen stealing !! At the same time ‘Vivienne Westwood’ had a market stall nearby and Nigel used to go there and get his clothes made to order.

Meanwhile with ‘Deathwish’ floundering, Nigel together with Mark Reilly/guitar and Tim Brick/drums had formed a band called ‘The Xtraverts’ with Kris Jozajtis filling in on bass, a job he swiftly passed on to Carlton Mounsher. With the line up complete and with a set of original songs plus a few covers they played the University circuit and London venues such as ‘The Roxy’, ‘The Vortex,’ ‘Hope and Anchor’ ‘Fulham Greyhound’ and ‘Global Village’, supporting ‘Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ , ‘Gary Glitter and The Glitter Band’ and ‘Bernie Torme’. Further they were voted best new band in the Aylesbury ‘Friars’ poll.

Whilst at these gigs they rubbed shoulders with the up and coming soon to be punk icons, drinking with ‘Joe Strummer’, ‘Paul Weller’, wet toilet roll fights with ‘Billy Idol’, arguing with ‘Sid Vicious’ and pinching white label copies of ‘Anarchy in the UK’ from ‘Johnny Rotten’. Whilst at an Arsenal football game in early 1976 Nigel dressed up with brightly coloured spiky hair recalls seeing John Lydon later to become Johnny Rotten sporting long hippy hair and a black trenchcoat, one wonders who influenced who !!! These were remarkable times. Carlton also recalls being persuaded by Rat Scabies and Brian James of ‘The Damned’ to help them put just pressed copies of New Rose into their covers at Stiff Records. Although this meant he had one of the first copies of the UK’s first punk records , he still had to pay for it !!!

The band played around with new names and became ‘Nigel Martins Visage’ or ‘Mirage’, but with ‘Steve Strange’ having the same name finally agreed and settled on ‘THE XTR@VERTS’, a name which reflected their image and style. Soon they released their first vinyl single on Spike Records, ‘BLANK GENERATION’, b/w ‘A-LAD-INSANE’, there was a limited pressing of 500 and incidently these singles are now selling for over £175 on e-bay.

The band individually having strong creative drive, unfortunately disbanded the following year and moved in different directions with Carlton and Mark Reilly forming the ‘ Cathedrals’, later Reilly left to join ‘Blue rondo ala Turk’ and then formed and continues to have success with ‘Matt Bianco’. Carlton formed ‘The Ventilators’ later ‘The Vents’, and then ‘The Swamps’. Kris went on to join ‘The Folk Devils,’ whilst Tim did session work with ‘Japan’ and then moved into production.

Before leaving High Wycombe, Mark Reilly introduced Nigel to two young musicians ‘Mark Chapman’ and ‘Steve Westwood’, base and guitar players respectively, to continue with ‘The Xtr@verts’. Recruiting drummer ‘Andy Crawford’ they knuckled down and continued rehearsing and writing new material.

With a new line up, fresh and stronger than ever they hit the circuit running. Ron Watts gave the band many supports at the Town Hall where many well known acts were playing. First gig with the Jones Boys (aka Howard Jones) then support slots with ‘The Slits’ and ‘Creation Rebel’ and then headline gigs at the ‘White Swan’ Southall, the ‘Rainbow’ Finsbury Park and then ’Oranges and Lemons’ Oxford. Further concerts followed and a string of support gigs with the Damned’, ‘999’, ’Angelic Upstarts’, ‘The U.K. Subs, ‘The Vibrators’’ and ‘The Lurkers’.

The band went straight into the studio and during 1979 released two singles, the first was ‘POLICE STATE/DEMOLITION’ a double a) side, costs were shared with another local band ‘Plastic People’ with their song ‘Demolition’- released on Rising Sun records. The second release later in the year with the introduction of a new guitarist was ‘SPEED / 1984’.

The band with its new line up built up a very large following with in excess of 1000 people travelling to gigs far and wide, coaches filled with fans from all over the south of England would come and be a part of the Xtr@verts crew, especially when headlining their own gigs and with the support of ‘Rat Scabies’ drummer of the ‘Damned’ with a band he was managing ‘The Satellites’ played with the Xtr@verts on numerous occasions. Then there was the infamous ‘Oranges and Lemons’ gig in Oxford, The Clarenden, Fulham Greyhound, Hope’n’Anchor, plus many more memorable gigs in and around the home counties.

The Xtr@verts had a massive Punk and Skinhead following from as far as Birmingham to London and they would travel and support the band. The venues were packed with large chanting boisterous crowds and were more reminiscent of a Millwall -West Ham match than a concert.

At one gig in particular, 1980 at the Town Hall , High Wycombe, Rat Scabies even stood in and drummed for the band, and recently some 35 years later a recording of this electric gig has been discovered.

During late 1979, even after plays of both singles on ‘John Peel’s’ radio show, topping the N.M.E and SOUNDS charts, knocking ‘pretty vacant’ of the top of the independent charts also in the top 3 of the ‘Oi’ charts and a brief appearance on ‘20th Century Box’ a ‘Janet Street Porter’ production with an interview by ‘Danny Baker’ on the subject of independent record labels and unsigned bands releasing and distributing their own records. Unfortunately the writing was on the wall.

Coupled with musical differences, changing line up and dissallusion with the punk ethos and the arrival of a new breed of Punk more commonly known as ‘Oi’ which had started causing violent confrontations and injecting absolute ch@os between fans at latter gigs, on the 31st January

…………THE XTR@VERTS short life from 1976 to1980 was over……….

Reunions: album release and new line ups:

After the break up members went in different directions, Mark Chapman the totally flambouyant and outrageous base player became a top London DJ playing re mixes of 70’s disco classics in London Nightclubs becoming a promoter and entrepreneur, founder of ‘Car Wash’ and rubbing shoulders with new found friends ‘ Sigue Sigue Sputnik’.

Nigel played with a few local bands but moved into promoting rather than performing and opened the ‘Kat Klub’ under the flyover in the centre of town packing out the venue with bands like the U.K Subs, Crass, King Kurt, 999, the ‘Meteors’, ‘Angelic Upstarts’ and the ‘Vibrators’, keeping music live after the demise of the Town hall due to skinheads causing so much trouble at an ‘Adam Ant’ gig the venue was closed by the council.

During the next 10 years there was a handful of re union gigs, re hashing of old songs albeit very well received locally, during the mid eighties with the arrival of new guitarist Alistair Murray and drummer Steve McCormack ( who had been close friends with the band from day one) the Xtr@verts performed 3or 4 gigs with new image and style with a complete new set of songs.

After the release of a compilation Xtr@verts album, with songs and versions unheard of in the day, entitled ‘So Much Hate’ was released on ‘Detour’ records in the mid 90’s which has sold incredibly well worldwide, the Xtr@verts reformed once again and a launch gig was organised with the UK Subs….this was the last time the band were to play. A chapter in all the lives of the band members was finally put to sleep……….

Until now… 2014,

After the sad death of base player Mark Chapman and a chance meeting with long time friend and organiser of Brighton’s Skinhead Reunion Symond Lawes and with such a worldwide interest in past punk history and youth culture, the XTR@VERTS have reinvented themselves yet again and with a brand new and exciting line up are now in the process of recording a new album and rehearsing for a launch gig at the ‘100 Club’ (to be announced shortly).

The band’s new line up includes ;

NIGEL MARTIN Original ‘Xtr@verts’ and ‘Deathwish’ lead vocalist and front man.

CARLTON MOUNSHER Original Deathwish and Xtr@verts bassist now lead guitarist.

STEVE McCORMACK Later band member, having previously played with ‘Xtr@verts’ on many occasions, sang and recorded with his own band in the late 80’s early 90’s with his rocker outfit the ‘T-Birds’. Even supported ‘Screaming Lord Sutch !!’ Also appeared on Granada TV’s ‘Stars in their Eyes’ as ‘Billy Idol’ 1993/94 and has played drums with rockabilly bands home and abroad and is an accomplished Jazz singer.

NICK ‘BO’ CHAPMAN Also known as Joe Hope and brother of former base player Mark Chapman. Nick has played guitar for over 30 years, playing with local Folk Rock and Electronic bands throughout the 80’s to the present. ‘Were not the same were individuals’.

IAIN WOOSTER Iain has actively been playing in bands for the past 30 years, touring extensively through the 90’s UK and America, playing on albums for various artiste’s and an appearance with his band on the B.B.C’s ‘Eastenders’ during the 1990’s

The XTR@VERTS were a group that slipped through the media net and in their heyday were every bit as good as their contempories and although not up there with the flagship bands of the time they are credited and historically placed in the period that was punk rock. They appear in the top 100 punk bands of all time and have rubbed shoulders with many of the punk greats, perhaps now is the time to let people see what they missed or what might have been.

The Xtr@verts were one of Wycombe’s finest. So now let’s see what big brother’s little brother has to offer…….?????

‘Who Sent the Boys’. The story of the Xtraverts.

Biography written and researched by Steve McCormack. April 2014

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Bermondsey Joy Riders to perform the Great Skinhead Reunion, Brighton

Late additions to the Bill for The Great skinhead Reunion 2015 The Bermondsey Joy Riders

Claiming all the credentials of a bonafide ‘77 super group, The Bermondsey Joyriders is a band pooling the hard-won experience and history of three veteran punks. Founding membersGary Lammin (vocals / guitar) and Martin Stacey (bass) cut their teeth in the Joe Strummer-produced Little Roosters and Generation X precursors Chelsea respectively, whilst recent recruit Chris Musto (drums) is a sticksman of some credentials – having previously played with Johnny Thunders, Joe Strummer and Nico, to name but a few!

More than the sum of their impressive punk rock heritage however, The Bermondsey Joyriders have won praise for splicing those sounds from suburbs with raw blues and Lammin’s startling slide guitar – emerging with a sonic signature that is undeniably all their own. Given just 12 hours (!) in the studio to lay down their self-titled 2008 debut, they managed to produce a record which Classic Rock magazine’s Carol Clerk deemed to have “pulled off a really impudent mix of influences”, and which Guitarist magazine’s Charles Shaar Murray felt had achieved a “unique spin on punk-blues”.

Featuring Gary Lammin, writer of Runnin Riot and Chip on your shoulder, original member of Cock Sparrer. Check their website for full info on the band

Posted on by — Leave a comment

An international trip to London, From Germany, by Thilo

An international trip to London

Feb 2nd 2015 to Feb 6th 2015

At first I wanted to go to Rebellion Festival in Blackpool and the Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton this year. But then my car broke and it had to be repaired. That was too expensive to realize these two trips to good old England.

Just a few days later good friends of mine from South Tyrol asked me to join their trip to London at the first days of February. it should be their first trip to England, so they would be very happy if I would go with them. This trip would be cheaper than going to the two festivals in Blackpool and Brighton, so I said “yes”. It was the first time I could celebrate my birthday in London.

It was Friday, Jan 30th, 6 o’clock in the morning. My brother drove me to the train station of the city of Bad Hersfeld. I left this town by train to arrive at the snow-covered city of Sterzing/South Tyrol. At that weekend I enjoyed the delicious south tyrolean cuisine and maybe a few too many glasses of red wine and beer.

On Monday, Feb 2nd it was Florian, Sandra, Stefan and me (Thilo) going to the airport of Bergamo/Italy at 5 o’clock in the morning. At about midday we arrived at the airport London Stansted.

First we took a taxi to our hotel in London Leyton. The taxi driver was very friendlich and told us to be careful in street-traffic because of the traffic on the left side of the street. When we arrived at our hotel we checked in, ate a small snack and went out to explore the capital of Great Britain. We didn’t want to waste any time, so we started quickly to work off our list of destinations which was full of football, subculture and the typical tourism stuff.

Using the Oyster Card we go by tube to our first destination, the Boleyn Ground in the East End. It was a pity that we can’t have a look inside the stadium but at the shop I bought a new scarf of West Ham United FC.

In the evening we went to Camden Town to have Fish & Chips at The Oxford Arms and have a few pints of beer at The Elephant’s Head.

The next day we explored a lot of tourism stuff. First we used the tube to get to Tower Hill Station. From that station we did a huge walk through London. We went to the Tower Of London and the Tower Bridge. After that we walked along River Thames to the London Eye. We had a wonderful view over the city and we took lots of pictures, so we disclosed our identity as tourists, haha.

On Westminster Bridge near Big Ben we met a bagpiper in traditional Scottish clothing. I hoped he would play the song “Hingland Cathedral” because my father loves this song too and plays it very often when he plays the bagpipe. We stopped for a while to listen to the bagpiper and I was very surprised as one of his next songs was “Highland Cathedral”. London, I thank you for that little present.

Stefan insisted to go to Hard Rock Café so we decided to have a late lunch there. We had a burger and chips and of course a pint of beer. After we were shocked by the bill we had to pay and disappointed by the music they played in the Hard Rock Café (It was everything but Hard Rock!!!) we went to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

The darkness had set in, so we wanted to view the lights of Piccadilly Circus and Carnaby Street. The Day ended again in Camden Town. But this time we had a few pints in a pub called “The World’s End”.

It was Wednesday, Feb 4th. It was my 26th birthday. The same procedure as every day of this journey we met at the hotel lobby in the morning to have a breakfast in the hotel. I had to find out that I wasn’t the only person who bought something at the shop at Boleyn Ground two days before. Sandra gave a little Button to me on which you can find the coat of arms of West Ham United FC and the slogan “It’s my Birthday”. Sandra and the two other boys laughed and told me that I had to wear that button the whole day.

After the breakfast in the hotel we wanted to follow the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, but all we found was a sign-post “No Guard Changing Ceremony Today”. So we had enough time to visit Madame Tussauds’ before lunch. We took some distracted pictures with some wax celebrities and left the cabinet. Our next destination was the train station King’s Cross/St. Pancras. Sandra wanted to have a look at Platform 9 ¾ from the books and movies of Harry Potter.

At the early afternoon we arrived in Camden Town and we decided to spend the rest of the day there. Florian and I wanted to go shopping at Camden Lock Market. That was the day of the trip we spent the most money. We read in the internet about a shop called Oi! Oi! The Shop. The old skin inside the shop was very pleasant character and ready to help. He really knew where we can find the things we want to have. I saw a ring of Trojan records but I hesitated and didn’t buy it. Finally I bought a tee shirt of The Business, a CD of The 4-Skins and a few patches and pins. The other three spent a lot of money in the Lock Market too.

We all enjoyed the time in the pub called “The World’s End” one day before, so we decided to celebrate my birthday in that pub an have some beers before we went back to our hotel in London Leyton.

Our last full day in London started later than the days before because the day before we came back to our hotel very lately. We used the tube to come back to Camden Town. Everyone of us felt in love with this part of London and everyone had seen a thing that wasn’t been bought. For example I wanted to come back to Oi! Oi! The Shop to buy the Trojan ring. But first we searched for a possibility to have a Full English Breakfast. It was a tasty breakfast but after that all of us agreed that nobody needed a lunch after that. We went back to the old skin of Oi! Oi! The Shop. I wanted to buy the Trojan ring and while I was trying to find one that fits me, the others gave me the money for the ring and told me that the ring is a present for me. The owner of the shop asked them, why they were paying the ring for me. Sandra answered that yesterday was my birthday and the ring should be my birthday present. When he heard that, he went for a Trojan Skins Pin and gave it to me. He said it’s a birthday present too. I thanked him a few times and we left the shop.

In the meantime it was evening and we spent that evening in the hotel and went to bed because at the next morning we had to get up very early.

Friday, Feb 6th. The day we flew home to the continent. Early in the morning we got up to take a taxi back to the airport London Stansted. At midday we landed at the airport of Bergamo/Italy and drove back to Sterzing/South Tyrol. One day later I went back to my hessian home.

I had great days in the english capital. Everyone of us was sure to return to that impressive city.

That trip to London was a wonderful, but calm alternative to the festivals during the summer but I have to admit that it would have been awesome to visit the Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton or the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.

London, I spent a good time in you. THANK YOU.

Thilo
(written in March 2015)

Ein Internationaler Trip nach London

02.02.2015 – 06.02.2015

Eigentlich wollte ich in diesem Jahr auf das Rebellion Festival nach Blackpool und auf die Great Skinhead Reunion nach Brighton. Da aber mein Auto repariert werden musste und die Reparatur leider sehr teuer war, musste ich mich von dem Gedanken dieses Jahr nach Blackpool und Brighton zu fahren wohl verabschieden.

Nur ein paar Tage später erreichte mich von Freunden aus Südtirol die Nachricht, dass sie Ende Januar bis Anfang Februar nach London wollten. Da es ihre erste Reise nach London werden sollte, fragten sie mich, ob ich nicht mitkommen wollte. Da dieser Kurzurlaub in London wesentlich günstiger sein würde, als ein Besuch am Rebellion Festival in Blackpool und auf der Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton, freute ich mich natürlich sehr über dieses Angebot und sagte sofort zu. Zumal ich damit auch das erste Mal meinen Geburtstag in London feiern konnte.

Es war Freitag, der 30. Januar. Mein Bruder fuhr mich morgens um halb 6 nach Bad Hersfeld an den Bahnhof. Von Dort aus ging es erstmal mit dem Zug ins verschneite Sterzing in Südtirol. Das Wochenende verbrachte ich dann bei Freunden in den Bergen und genoss die Südtiroler Küche und vielleicht auch das ein oder andere Glas Rotwein und Bier zuviel.

Am Montag, den 2. Februar starteten wir, Florian, Sandra, Stefan und ich (Thilo) um 05:00 Uhr morgens von Sterzing aus nach Bergamo an den Flughafen. Mittags landeten wir am Flughafen London Stansted. Es waren für die meine drei Mitstreiter die ersten Schritte auf englischem Boden.

Wir fuhren weiter mit dem Taxi in den Stadtteil Leyton zu unserem Hotel. Unser Taxifahrer war sehr freundlich und wies uns mehrmals darauf hin, dass wir im Straßenverkehr vorsichtig sein müssten, da der Linksverkehr eine große Umstellung für uns sein könnte. Der erste Eindruck von England war für die Erstbesucher durch den netten Taxifahrer also ein durchweg positiver. Am Hotel angekommen, checkten wir kurz ein, brachten unser Gepäck auf die Zimmer und aßen eine Kleinigkeit bevor wir uns gleich auf den Weg machten London zu unsicher zu machen. Wir wollten keine Zeit verlieren und füllten die wenigen Tage, die vor uns lagen optimal mit einer Mischung aus Fußball, Subkultur und dem typischen Touristen-Programm.

Mit der Oyster Card im Gepäck machten wir uns mit der U-Bahn auf zu unserem ersten Ziel, dem Stadion Boleyn Ground im Londoner East End. Es war schade, dass wir das Stadion nur von Außen besichtigt haben, aber ich habe mir im Stadion Shop noch einen neuen Schal von West Ham United kaufen können.

Am Abend hat es uns nach Camden Town verschlagen. Wir aßen im The Oxford Arms Fish & Chips und danach gingen wir nach Gegenüber ins The Elephant’s Head um den ersten Tag in London bei einigen Bieren zu beenden.

Am nächsten Tag sollte ein langer Fußmarsch vor uns liegen. Wir fuhren mit der U-Bahn zur Station Tower Hill. Nachdem wir dem Tower Of London einen kurzen Besuch abstatteten ging es per Pedes weiter zur Tower Bridge und an der Themse entlang zum London Eye. Ein herrlicher Ausblick bot sich uns von der Spitze dieses Riesenrades direkt am Ufer der Themse. Wir genossen den Blick über die Dächer von London und zückten auch das ein oder andere Mal die Kamera.

Weiter ging es über die Westminster Bridge zum Big Ben. Auf der Westminster Bridge stand ein Dudelsackspieler in typisch schottischer Tracht. Insgeheim wünschte ich mir, dass er das Lied „Highland Cathedral“ spielen würde, da mein Vater dieses Lied auch sehr liebt und oft spielt. Wir hielten einen Moment an und hörten ihm zu. Ich war sehr überrascht, als das nächste Lied, was er anstimmen sollte, dann tatsächlich „Highland Cathedral“ war. Ich danke London für dieses kleine Geschenk.

Da Stefan unbedingt ins örtliche Hardrock Café wollte, nutzten wir die Gelegenheit und nahmen dort gleich ein etwas verspätetes Mittagessen in Form von Burgern und Pommes ein. Dazu gab es natürlich wieder ein Bier. Wir staunten allerdings nicht schlecht, als wir die Rechnung bekamen. Die Musik hatte auch nur sehr wenig mit Hard Rock zu tun. So gingen wir dann auch etwas ärmer und auch vom Gesamteindruck leicht enttäuscht weiter unseres Weges. Auf dem Weg zur U-Bahn-Station lief uns noch der Buckingham Pallace und Westminster Abbey zufällig über den Weg.

inzwischen war es dunkel geworden, sodass wir den Piccadilly Circus in seiner ganzen Lichterpracht zu sehen bekamen. Die Carnaby Street sollte unser letztes Ziel sein, bevor wir den Abend wieder in Camden Town, diesmal aber im The World’s End Pub, ausklingen ließen.

Es war Mittwoch, der 4. Februar. Es war mein sechsundzwanzigster Geburtstag. Wir trafen uns wie jeden Morgen in der Hotellobby. Dort erhielt ich auch gleich ein kleines Geburtstagsgeschenk von Sandra. Ich war nicht der einzige, der am Montag im Stadion Shop im Boleyn Ground etwas gekauft hat. Sandra kaufte einen Button, mit der Aufschrift „It’s My Birthday“ und dem Vereinswappen von West Ham United in der Mitte. Diesen Button musste ich dann den ganzen Tag lang tragen.

Nach dem Frühstück fuhren wir mit der U-Bahn wieder zum Buckingham Pallace um uns die Wachablösung anzusehen. Dort angekommen fanden wir allerdings nur ein Schild vor, auf dem folgender Text zu lesen war: „No Guard Changing Ceremony Today“. So ging es dann eben etwas früher als eigentlich geplant in Madame Tussauds’ Wachsfigurenkabinett. Nachdem wir dort das ein oder andere verstörende Bild mit dem ein oder anderen Wachsprominenten machten ging unsere Reise weiter zum Bahnhof King’s Cross/St. Pancras. Sandra wollte sich dort unbedingt das Gleis 9 ¾ aus den Harry Potter Büchern und Filmen ansehen. Am späten Mittag sind wir dann in Camden Town angekommen. Hier verbrachten wir dann auch den Rest des Tages. Ich glaube dies war der Tag der Reise, an dem wir das meiste Geld ausgaben. Das meiste Geld davon sollten wir im Oi! Oi! The Shop lassen. Ich gönnte mir ein T-Shirt von The Business, eine CD von The 4-Skins, sowie einige Aufnäher und Pins. Ich sah auch einen Ring von Trojan Records, der es mir wirklich angetan hatte, den ich aber nicht mitnahm. Auch der Rest der Reisetruppe schlug ordentlich zu. Der ältere Skin im Laden war sehr hilfsbereit, er wusste genau wo die Dinge waren, nach denen wir suchten. Da uns der Pub „ The World’s End“ sehr gut gefallen hatte, beschlossen wir meinen Geburtstag dort noch etwas zu feiern, bevor wir wieder ins Hotel fuhren.

Unseren letzten kompletten Tag in London gingen wir langsam an. Nachdem wir am Vorabend ausgiebig gefeiert hatten, schliefen wir bis in den späten Vormittag hinein. Anschließend fuhren wir mit der U-Bahn in die Stadt um uns ein Englisches Frühstück zu gönnen. Das Frühstück war genau nach meinem Geschmack und es machte so satt, dass man bis zum Abend nichts mehr essen brauchte.
Beim Frühstück berieten wir uns, wie wir den letzten Tag verbringen wollten. Schnell wurden wir uns einig, dass wir alle nochmal nach Camden Town wollten, da jeder von uns gestern beim Shopping im Camden Lock Market noch etwas zurückgelassen hatte, was er/sie noch unbedingt haben wollte. Wir hatten uns einfach in diesen Stadtteil verliebt. Wir besuchten auch Oi! Oi! The Shop wieder, da ich dort einen Ring mit dem Logo von Trojan Records gesehen habe, den ich mir unbedingt noch kaufen musste. Als ich einige Ringe anprobiert hatte und die richtige Größe gefunden hatte, teilten mir Sandra, Florian und Stefan mit, dass sie zusammen gelegt haben und mir diesen Ring zu meinem gestrigen Geburtstag schenken möchten. Sandra gab dem älteren Skin vom Shop das Geld und voller Dankbarkeit nahm ich den Ring entgegen und streifte ihn mir über den Ringfinger. Auf der anderen Seite der Ladentheke fragte der Skin in die Runde, warum sie mir den Ring schenken, schließlich sei er ja nicht günstig. Sandra antwortete ihm, dass ich gestern Geburtstag gehabt hatte und dass der Ring mein Geburtstagsgeschenk sei. Daraufhin schenkte er mir noch einen „Trojan Skins“- Pin. Voller Freude verließ ich mit den anderen den Shop.

Es war mittlerweile Abend geworden und da wir am nächsten Tag wieder sehr früh zum Flughafen mussten, beschlossen wir, an diesem Abend mal nur ein Bier zu trinken und dann gleich ins Hotel zurück zu fahren.

Es war Freitag, der 6. Februar und der Tag unserer Abreise. Schon sehr früh nahmen wir uns ein Taxi und fuhren zurück Richtung London Stansted.

Am Vormittag landeten wir wieder im norditalienischen Bergamo, bevor wir mit dem Auto weiter Nach Südtirol und Sterzing fuhren. Am nächsten Tag fuhr ich wieder mit dem Zug zurück in meine nordhessische Heimat.

Es waren sehr schöne Tage in der englischen Hauptstadt. Auch meine drei Freunde waren sich sicher, sie waren nicht das letzte Mal in London. Diese schöne Stadt würden wir wieder besuchen.

Dieser Urlaub war eine sehr schöne, wenn auch viel ruhigere Alternative zum ausfallenden Besuches am Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. London, Du hast mir viele kleine Freuden gemacht. Dafür danke ich Dir.

Thilo
(geschrieben im März 2015)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

An international trip to London, From Germany, by Thilo

An international trip to London

Feb 2nd 2015 to Feb 6th 2015

At first I wanted to go to Rebellion Festival in Blackpool and the Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton this year. But then my car broke and it had to be repaired. That was too expensive to realize these two trips to good old England.

Just a few days later good friends of mine from South Tyrol asked me to join their trip to London at the first days of February. it should be their first trip to England, so they would be very happy if I would go with them. This trip would be cheaper than going to the two festivals in Blackpool and Brighton, so I said “yes”. It was the first time I could celebrate my birthday in London.

It was Friday, Jan 30th, 6 o’clock in the morning. My brother drove me to the train station of the city of Bad Hersfeld. I left this town by train to arrive at the snow-covered city of Sterzing/South Tyrol. At that weekend I enjoyed the delicious south tyrolean cuisine and maybe a few too many glasses of red wine and beer.

On Monday, Feb 2nd it was Florian, Sandra, Stefan and me (Thilo) going to the airport of Bergamo/Italy at 5 o’clock in the morning. At about midday we arrived at the airport London Stansted.

First we took a taxi to our hotel in London Leyton. The taxi driver was very friendlich and told us to be careful in street-traffic because of the traffic on the left side of the street. When we arrived at our hotel we checked in, ate a small snack and went out to explore the capital of Great Britain. We didn’t want to waste any time, so we started quickly to work off our list of destinations which was full of football, subculture and the typical tourism stuff.

Using the Oyster Card we go by tube to our first destination, the Boleyn Ground in the East End. It was a pity that we can’t have a look inside the stadium but at the shop I bought a new scarf of West Ham United FC.

In the evening we went to Camden Town to have Fish & Chips at The Oxford Arms and have a few pints of beer at The Elephant’s Head.

The next day we explored a lot of tourism stuff. First we used the tube to get to Tower Hill Station. From that station we did a huge walk through London. We went to the Tower Of London and the Tower Bridge. After that we walked along River Thames to the London Eye. We had a wonderful view over the city and we took lots of pictures, so we disclosed our identity as tourists, haha.

On Westminster Bridge near Big Ben we met a bagpiper in traditional Scottish clothing. I hoped he would play the song “Hingland Cathedral” because my father loves this song too and plays it very often when he plays the bagpipe. We stopped for a while to listen to the bagpiper and I was very surprised as one of his next songs was “Highland Cathedral”. London, I thank you for that little present.

Stefan insisted to go to Hard Rock Café so we decided to have a late lunch there. We had a burger and chips and of course a pint of beer. After we were shocked by the bill we had to pay and disappointed by the music they played in the Hard Rock Café (It was everything but Hard Rock!!!) we went to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

The darkness had set in, so we wanted to view the lights of Piccadilly Circus and Carnaby Street. The Day ended again in Camden Town. But this time we had a few pints in a pub called “The World’s End”.

It was Wednesday, Feb 4th. It was my 26th birthday. The same procedure as every day of this journey we met at the hotel lobby in the morning to have a breakfast in the hotel. I had to find out that I wasn’t the only person who bought something at the shop at Boleyn Ground two days before. Sandra gave a little Button to me on which you can find the coat of arms of West Ham United FC and the slogan “It’s my Birthday”. Sandra and the two other boys laughed and told me that I had to wear that button the whole day.

After the breakfast in the hotel we wanted to follow the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, but all we found was a sign-post “No Guard Changing Ceremony Today”. So we had enough time to visit Madame Tussauds’ before lunch. We took some distracted pictures with some wax celebrities and left the cabinet. Our next destination was the train station King’s Cross/St. Pancras. Sandra wanted to have a look at Platform 9 ¾ from the books and movies of Harry Potter.

At the early afternoon we arrived in Camden Town and we decided to spend the rest of the day there. Florian and I wanted to go shopping at Camden Lock Market. That was the day of the trip we spent the most money. We read in the internet about a shop called Oi! Oi! The Shop. The old skin inside the shop was very pleasant character and ready to help. He really knew where we can find the things we want to have. I saw a ring of Trojan records but I hesitated and didn’t buy it. Finally I bought a tee shirt of The Business, a CD of The 4-Skins and a few patches and pins. The other three spent a lot of money in the Lock Market too.

We all enjoyed the time in the pub called “The World’s End” one day before, so we decided to celebrate my birthday in that pub an have some beers before we went back to our hotel in London Leyton.

Our last full day in London started later than the days before because the day before we came back to our hotel very lately. We used the tube to come back to Camden Town. Everyone of us felt in love with this part of London and everyone had seen a thing that wasn’t been bought. For example I wanted to come back to Oi! Oi! The Shop to buy the Trojan ring. But first we searched for a possibility to have a Full English Breakfast. It was a tasty breakfast but after that all of us agreed that nobody needed a lunch after that. We went back to the old skin of Oi! Oi! The Shop. I wanted to buy the Trojan ring and while I was trying to find one that fits me, the others gave me the money for the ring and told me that the ring is a present for me. The owner of the shop asked them, why they were paying the ring for me. Sandra answered that yesterday was my birthday and the ring should be my birthday present. When he heard that, he went for a Trojan Skins Pin and gave it to me. He said it’s a birthday present too. I thanked him a few times and we left the shop.

oi the shop

In the meantime it was evening and we spent that evening in the hotel and went to bed because at the next morning we had to get up very early.

Friday, Feb 6th. The day we flew home to the continent. Early in the morning we got up to take a taxi back to the airport London Stansted. At midday we landed at the airport of Bergamo/Italy and drove back to Sterzing/South Tyrol. One day later I went back to my hessian home.

I had great days in the english capital. Everyone of us was sure to return to that impressive city.

That trip to London was a wonderful, but calm alternative to the festivals during the summer but I have to admit that it would have been awesome to visit the Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton or the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.

London, I spent a good time in you. THANK YOU.

Thilo
(written in March 2015)

Ein Internationaler Trip nach London

02.02.2015 – 06.02.2015

Eigentlich wollte ich in diesem Jahr auf das Rebellion Festival nach Blackpool und auf die Great Skinhead Reunion nach Brighton. Da aber mein Auto repariert werden musste und die Reparatur leider sehr teuer war, musste ich mich von dem Gedanken dieses Jahr nach Blackpool und Brighton zu fahren wohl verabschieden.

Nur ein paar Tage später erreichte mich von Freunden aus Südtirol die Nachricht, dass sie Ende Januar bis Anfang Februar nach London wollten. Da es ihre erste Reise nach London werden sollte, fragten sie mich, ob ich nicht mitkommen wollte. Da dieser Kurzurlaub in London wesentlich günstiger sein würde, als ein Besuch am Rebellion Festival in Blackpool und auf der Great Skinhead Reunion in Brighton, freute ich mich natürlich sehr über dieses Angebot und sagte sofort zu. Zumal ich damit auch das erste Mal meinen Geburtstag in London feiern konnte.

Es war Freitag, der 30. Januar. Mein Bruder fuhr mich morgens um halb 6 nach Bad Hersfeld an den Bahnhof. Von Dort aus ging es erstmal mit dem Zug ins verschneite Sterzing in Südtirol. Das Wochenende verbrachte ich dann bei Freunden in den Bergen und genoss die Südtiroler Küche und vielleicht auch das ein oder andere Glas Rotwein und Bier zuviel.

Am Montag, den 2. Februar starteten wir, Florian, Sandra, Stefan und ich (Thilo) um 05:00 Uhr morgens von Sterzing aus nach Bergamo an den Flughafen. Mittags landeten wir am Flughafen London Stansted. Es waren für die meine drei Mitstreiter die ersten Schritte auf englischem Boden.

Wir fuhren weiter mit dem Taxi in den Stadtteil Leyton zu unserem Hotel. Unser Taxifahrer war sehr freundlich und wies uns mehrmals darauf hin, dass wir im Straßenverkehr vorsichtig sein müssten, da der Linksverkehr eine große Umstellung für uns sein könnte. Der erste Eindruck von England war für die Erstbesucher durch den netten Taxifahrer also ein durchweg positiver. Am Hotel angekommen, checkten wir kurz ein, brachten unser Gepäck auf die Zimmer und aßen eine Kleinigkeit bevor wir uns gleich auf den Weg machten London zu unsicher zu machen. Wir wollten keine Zeit verlieren und füllten die wenigen Tage, die vor uns lagen optimal mit einer Mischung aus Fußball, Subkultur und dem typischen Touristen-Programm.

Mit der Oyster Card im Gepäck machten wir uns mit der U-Bahn auf zu unserem ersten Ziel, dem Stadion Boleyn Ground im Londoner East End. Es war schade, dass wir das Stadion nur von Außen besichtigt haben, aber ich habe mir im Stadion Shop noch einen neuen Schal von West Ham United kaufen können.

Am Abend hat es uns nach Camden Town verschlagen. Wir aßen im The Oxford Arms Fish & Chips und danach gingen wir nach Gegenüber ins The Elephant’s Head um den ersten Tag in London bei einigen Bieren zu beenden.

Am nächsten Tag sollte ein langer Fußmarsch vor uns liegen. Wir fuhren mit der U-Bahn zur Station Tower Hill. Nachdem wir dem Tower Of London einen kurzen Besuch abstatteten ging es per Pedes weiter zur Tower Bridge und an der Themse entlang zum London Eye. Ein herrlicher Ausblick bot sich uns von der Spitze dieses Riesenrades direkt am Ufer der Themse. Wir genossen den Blick über die Dächer von London und zückten auch das ein oder andere Mal die Kamera.

Weiter ging es über die Westminster Bridge zum Big Ben. Auf der Westminster Bridge stand ein Dudelsackspieler in typisch schottischer Tracht. Insgeheim wünschte ich mir, dass er das Lied „Highland Cathedral“ spielen würde, da mein Vater dieses Lied auch sehr liebt und oft spielt. Wir hielten einen Moment an und hörten ihm zu. Ich war sehr überrascht, als das nächste Lied, was er anstimmen sollte, dann tatsächlich „Highland Cathedral“ war. Ich danke London für dieses kleine Geschenk.

Da Stefan unbedingt ins örtliche Hardrock Café wollte, nutzten wir die Gelegenheit und nahmen dort gleich ein etwas verspätetes Mittagessen in Form von Burgern und Pommes ein. Dazu gab es natürlich wieder ein Bier. Wir staunten allerdings nicht schlecht, als wir die Rechnung bekamen. Die Musik hatte auch nur sehr wenig mit Hard Rock zu tun. So gingen wir dann auch etwas ärmer und auch vom Gesamteindruck leicht enttäuscht weiter unseres Weges. Auf dem Weg zur U-Bahn-Station lief uns noch der Buckingham Pallace und Westminster Abbey zufällig über den Weg.

inzwischen war es dunkel geworden, sodass wir den Piccadilly Circus in seiner ganzen Lichterpracht zu sehen bekamen. Die Carnaby Street sollte unser letztes Ziel sein, bevor wir den Abend wieder in Camden Town, diesmal aber im The World’s End Pub, ausklingen ließen.

Es war Mittwoch, der 4. Februar. Es war mein sechsundzwanzigster Geburtstag. Wir trafen uns wie jeden Morgen in der Hotellobby. Dort erhielt ich auch gleich ein kleines Geburtstagsgeschenk von Sandra. Ich war nicht der einzige, der am Montag im Stadion Shop im Boleyn Ground etwas gekauft hat. Sandra kaufte einen Button, mit der Aufschrift „It’s My Birthday“ und dem Vereinswappen von West Ham United in der Mitte. Diesen Button musste ich dann den ganzen Tag lang tragen.

Nach dem Frühstück fuhren wir mit der U-Bahn wieder zum Buckingham Pallace um uns die Wachablösung anzusehen. Dort angekommen fanden wir allerdings nur ein Schild vor, auf dem folgender Text zu lesen war: „No Guard Changing Ceremony Today“. So ging es dann eben etwas früher als eigentlich geplant in Madame Tussauds’ Wachsfigurenkabinett. Nachdem wir dort das ein oder andere verstörende Bild mit dem ein oder anderen Wachsprominenten machten ging unsere Reise weiter zum Bahnhof King’s Cross/St. Pancras. Sandra wollte sich dort unbedingt das Gleis 9 ¾ aus den Harry Potter Büchern und Filmen ansehen. Am späten Mittag sind wir dann in Camden Town angekommen. Hier verbrachten wir dann auch den Rest des Tages. Ich glaube dies war der Tag der Reise, an dem wir das meiste Geld ausgaben. Das meiste Geld davon sollten wir im Oi! Oi! The Shop lassen. Ich gönnte mir ein T-Shirt von The Business, eine CD von The 4-Skins, sowie einige Aufnäher und Pins. Ich sah auch einen Ring von Trojan Records, der es mir wirklich angetan hatte, den ich aber nicht mitnahm. Auch der Rest der Reisetruppe schlug ordentlich zu. Der ältere Skin im Laden war sehr hilfsbereit, er wusste genau wo die Dinge waren, nach denen wir suchten. Da uns der Pub „ The World’s End“ sehr gut gefallen hatte, beschlossen wir meinen Geburtstag dort noch etwas zu feiern, bevor wir wieder ins Hotel fuhren.

Unseren letzten kompletten Tag in London gingen wir langsam an. Nachdem wir am Vorabend ausgiebig gefeiert hatten, schliefen wir bis in den späten Vormittag hinein. Anschließend fuhren wir mit der U-Bahn in die Stadt um uns ein Englisches Frühstück zu gönnen. Das Frühstück war genau nach meinem Geschmack und es machte so satt, dass man bis zum Abend nichts mehr essen brauchte.
Beim Frühstück berieten wir uns, wie wir den letzten Tag verbringen wollten. Schnell wurden wir uns einig, dass wir alle nochmal nach Camden Town wollten, da jeder von uns gestern beim Shopping im Camden Lock Market noch etwas zurückgelassen hatte, was er/sie noch unbedingt haben wollte. Wir hatten uns einfach in diesen Stadtteil verliebt. Wir besuchten auch Oi! Oi! The Shop wieder, da ich dort einen Ring mit dem Logo von Trojan Records gesehen habe, den ich mir unbedingt noch kaufen musste. Als ich einige Ringe anprobiert hatte und die richtige Größe gefunden hatte, teilten mir Sandra, Florian und Stefan mit, dass sie zusammen gelegt haben und mir diesen Ring zu meinem gestrigen Geburtstag schenken möchten. Sandra gab dem älteren Skin vom Shop das Geld und voller Dankbarkeit nahm ich den Ring entgegen und streifte ihn mir über den Ringfinger. Auf der anderen Seite der Ladentheke fragte der Skin in die Runde, warum sie mir den Ring schenken, schließlich sei er ja nicht günstig. Sandra antwortete ihm, dass ich gestern Geburtstag gehabt hatte und dass der Ring mein Geburtstagsgeschenk sei. Daraufhin schenkte er mir noch einen „Trojan Skins“- Pin. Voller Freude verließ ich mit den anderen den Shop.

Es war mittlerweile Abend geworden und da wir am nächsten Tag wieder sehr früh zum Flughafen mussten, beschlossen wir, an diesem Abend mal nur ein Bier zu trinken und dann gleich ins Hotel zurück zu fahren.

Es war Freitag, der 6. Februar und der Tag unserer Abreise. Schon sehr früh nahmen wir uns ein Taxi und fuhren zurück Richtung London Stansted.

Am Vormittag landeten wir wieder im norditalienischen Bergamo, bevor wir mit dem Auto weiter Nach Südtirol und Sterzing fuhren. Am nächsten Tag fuhr ich wieder mit dem Zug zurück in meine nordhessische Heimat.

Es waren sehr schöne Tage in der englischen Hauptstadt. Auch meine drei Freunde waren sich sicher, sie waren nicht das letzte Mal in London. Diese schöne Stadt würden wir wieder besuchen.

Dieser Urlaub war eine sehr schöne, wenn auch viel ruhigere Alternative zum ausfallenden Besuches am Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. London, Du hast mir viele kleine Freuden gemacht. Dafür danke ich Dir.

Thilo
(geschrieben im März 2015)