Widnes Punks on Tour in Blackpool

Aug 27 2009 by Paul Glynn, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

A GANG of Widnes music fans met one of their punk rock heroes after making a pilgrimage to Blackpool’s Rebellion Festival.

Original punks Paul Day, Geoff Padmore, John Dean, Andrew Cash and Paul Davis, travelled to the seaside resort to listen to their favourite bands from the 1970s and 80s.

By chance, they bumped into Charlie Harper, whose band the UK SUBS enjoyed major chart success in 1979, with hits such as Stranglehold and Tomorrow’s Girls, as he strolled around inside the venue’s winter gardens.

The annual Rebellion event attracts a colourful crowd consisting of thousands of punks from around the world.

Apart from the UK SUBS, there were many stunning turns by bands such as The Damned, Subhumans, Anti-Nowhere League and Killing Joke.

The Widnesians later debated which band played best over pints of lager and bags of chips.

Paul Day said: “Rivalry makes musicians try and outdo each other.

“I saw a lot of these acts in the early 80s, but they play much tighter now than before!”

Evidently, as The Exploited’s vocalist, Wattie, once put it: “Punk’s not dead!”