"Great to play at the 100 Club, even though ivenue for the band, because at the moment I can’t really think of many others who embody the spirit of punk as Menace do, playing a whole load of great songs with a maximum four star rating. Blasting off with ‘Live For Today’, brand new songs such as ‘Suburban Queen’, ‘London’ with a strong verse which stands out immediately , and ‘Rocks and Dust’; their latest single ‘C&A’, for which a great video was shot the following day in a studio, ‘Punk Rocker’, and belting out all their old anthems in between: ‘Insane Society’, ‘Screwed Up’, ‘Carry No Banners’...The usual set? Fucking hell, NO!! John Lacey, their frontman, has decided to stir things up, diving into the crowd while the entire audience is taking over the stage. This is stage invasion on a football pitch scale. John has disappeared, along with Andrew Tweedie, the guitarist who is still playing somehow, somewhere, while his mic has been taken over by the boys from the audience who were just waiting for this moment to show their triple-xtreme enthusiasm for the band. If stage invasion is a barometer of popularity, this has more to do with a blitzkrieg than the usual drunkard who crawls up on stage and can’t tell a mic from a shower hean’t think we have to worry about these things nowadays anyway. ‘Last Year’s Youth’, and it’s the turn of yet another bunch taking on Charlie’s mic this time. Mark Perry and Co on stage for the chorus ’77 YOU TOLD THE TRUTH’, no time for nostalgia here, what year is it? Fuck knows but you better enjoy it while it lasts. ‘GLC’ signals the final assault. Steve Tannett, the original Menace guitarist is attending the show. He gets up on stage to give us his version of his brilliant punk anthem. The crowd goes berserk, if it’s possible to top what’s been going on already. It’s mayhem on a grand scale and I cannot see any member of the band anywhere except Noel, behind his drums, keeping things together with all the steadiness of a Japanese Sumo wrestler in the middle of an earthquake, while John probably sees his job as doing exactly the opposite, creating pure chaos in the process. True anarchists only wear black shirts, and don’t you forget it. Coming off stage after ‘GLC’, one of the boys tells me "It had to be done!". If it’s the only way to say ‘And a big thank you from your faithful record buyers’, why not?! A girl in large dungarees (some people have no shame!) shows a, that was great, that was great", and another punter looks like he’s just seen The Virgin Mary. An incredible end to a powerful, ultrasonic performance. Explosive...Looking forward to the video? You bet.

OPEN UP AND BLEED

Something happened in London last night that is unlikely to be repeated. During the encores from 77 veterans Menace, a small 42 year old ex-punk with a penchant for various musical styles climbed on stage to join the band in a blazing version of their classic single G.L.C. They were not "full of shit" oh no, this was raw rock and roll !!!!! Facing a full stage invasion and a weak heart an exhausted and over refreshed Tannett was heard to say, "What the fuck was that all about?" and promptly left the building heading for his "bijou" mews residence in trendy St Johns Wood "You’re late" his long time partner Maddy exclaimed, "Yeah" Fucking internoots and vinyl singles and Pathway studios and................................................ see you in another 20 years boys .......................................................

Steve Tannett via e-mail