but first a 'warning', or if you will note. on top of (or in addition too) the usual poor, shoddy writing and awful, low quality visuals, this shall contain pictures of moi, look you see. full well i know some of you inexplicably visit here with a preference not to see me, so pursue this post with all requisite discretion that you may feel you need.
so, first gig of the year this year (2025) done, dear readers. and what a gig it was. unexpectedly, to distract, over the last three (3) years i have been able to give myself a late-ish birthday gift of a March attendance at something at the legendary 100 Club. the instance of my 50th saw me see the magnificent Lust For Life tour there, and last year i got to (oddly undocumented on this blog) go and hear Julien Temple speak for a bit prior to a (hideously and inexplicably butchered rather than edited) screening of The Great Rock N Roll Swindle. in this instance it was, as the title here gives every indication, it was so that i was there to see the magnificence of KillerStar do a gig.
unless you have arrived here via a fairly specific (if not pacific) google (or whatever) search there is, alas, every chance that you have not heard of the band KillerStar. this is somewhat fair enough, as the band would appear to be (somewhat bewilderingly) taking a low key, under the radar approach to gifting their incredible music to the world. were it so that we lived once again in more better times, when music was truly the be all and end all, there would be massive fawning over and celebration of this band. as it is, well, i will gladly take being part of the fanbase in the know.
ostensibly the core of the band are guitarist and singer Rob Fleming, along with James Sedge on the drums. it is, however, the additional musicians - on the album and with slight variation live - which kind of drew my attention to them. apologies (and respect) to the other members, but seeing that Bowie stalwarts Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey and Mike Garson played on the album was what drew me in. this also drew in quite a few others, going on just how much of the audience was resplendent in clothing which celebrated Bowie.
for live performances it's slightly less Earl Slick on guitar (although he did guest perform for the last half an hour or so), more Kevin Armstrong. who(m) you can see in the above picture. for clarification, if required, that's the Kevin Armstrong. as in the chap who played guitar for Bowie (amongst several such incidents, but still) at Live Aid. i got to stand this or that close to him (whichever is the correct term), which pretty much made my attendance at the gig a triumph in itself. but yes, there's more to come.
how was the gig itself? it was totes ace, frankly. leaving aside the outstanding musical performances, it was perfectly paced, with the setlist featuring most (if not all) of the KillerStar album, along with two new songs, which gives the promise of another album on the way. many would, i suppose, have an expectation of a Bowie cover (or two), but no, they declined to do something so overtly obvious. they did, however, conclude with a breathtaking cover of Children Of The Revolution.
quite likely i have wasted an hour (or so) of my time converting and uploading below, but here we are. now is the time for video, or if you will videos, for here are five (5) snippets what i gone done recorded. mostly, i suspect, these shall simply showcase just how f*****g awful the Samsung A14 phone what has a camera welded to it is.
looking at these from my side of the screen (so to speak) it is a case of oh dear, they appear to have uploaded "sideways". it is possible i could have worked out a way to rotate them, but there's only so much time i am prepared to give to poor quality video.
sadly no, i simply do not have the budget for a more better phone. i have no interest in one of those contract things what give you access to a "mega phone" and there's only so much i am prepared to spend on a new phone. this shall just have to do.
with some luck, or good fortune, anyone being brave enough to play these videos shall at the least get a kind of sense, or if you will feel, of how excellent the gig was. presumably people with considerably better phones than me filmed it and uploaded it somewhere; i would suggest you search for them.
by chance, or maybe due to how i held the phone, the last video is (as far as i can tell) orientated correctly, or the right way round. a great shame that the sound is so f*****g awful as this last clip is of them doing Children Of The Revolution.
do i have "favourite" songs off of KillerStar? yes, i certainly do, and they played them both. for those who have some interest, the two top ones for me are Go (Hold On Tight) and Everybody Loves A Hero. from what i recall at least one (1) of those feature in the above video clips, best of luck working out which ones. not the last clip.
each instance of me being at the 100 Club has had a connection to the Sex Pistols. the third one was kind of unexpected. first time i went i got to see Glenn Matlock play bass, as for still unclear reasons the man who organised the Lust For Life gig, bass player Tony Sales, dropped out. second time was to see the film (in a butchered form) The Great Rock N Roll Swindle. and the third is pictured below, which does indeed go full tilt circle is complete to the first.
there are surreal moments in my life, and this was one of them. for the story, as you have clocked from some of the pictures i was stood to the side of the stage, mostly. it got to the point where Earl Slick was going to take to the stage, so i was (politely) asked to move aside. one bloke tapped me and said that i could sit in an empty chair, and that bloke did indeed turn out to be Glenn Matlock. i did have a suspicion that he and/or Billy Idol would be there, as they'd been pictured out and about in that there London (innit) with Earl Slick. no, sorry, no Billy pic.
perhaps i broke some unspoken (and/or unwritten) etiquette of the 100 Club, maybe i should not have disturbed him. but this was a once in a lifetime shot, so i shook his hand, said it was an honour to meet him and got this picture. my celebrity encounter experiences continue, then. between the two of us, and it wasn't intended he should be hidden, is one of the main "customer safety liaison officers" at the venue, the people we used to call bouncers. i spoke to him a few times as i went out for a cigarette (sorry) and he was a top bloke. not my story to tell, but when i asked him what was his best ever night there it was a birthday party Bill Wyman held. at that stage i was possibly too drunk to ask if Bill was wearing his celebrated blue suit, but let us assume he did.
cost of this adventure? well, there's a school of thought which says one should really avoid discussing money, politics and religion in polite company. but i have no idea what company i am presently in. the ticket for the gig was, surprisingly, south of £25. ridiculous, amazing value. for associated costs, it is with extreme good fortune that my stature with a certain hotel (more than one tree is involved) that meant i secured lodgings for the night gratis. beyond that, about (or around) £100 on trains and the tube, say £20 or so on food and probably around £50 of my coins now reside in the bar account at the 100 Club. totes worth it. well, it was a birthday treat to myself.
in respect of one aspect of those costs, what can i say, a big massive thank you and shout out to all employed by the rail services of our nation for, and likely for one weekend only, all doing the f*****g job they get paid a f*****g fortune to do for a change. each and every train ran on time and with no issues, and that peculiar breed naturally attracted to work for TFL were not on strike. hopefully all of those working for the rail services who actually f*****g turned up and just did what they are ostensibly contractually obliged to f*****g do (for a change) over the weekend of March 8 2025 get a thoroughly deserved f*****g knighthood for this spectacular, valiant effort. perhaps i shall write to Sir Keir and suggest this to him, but he is likely working on it already.
warning for those who need it, as the next (and last) picture below is a selfie. perhaps, or possibly, the last one i shall take at the 100 Club, which might be some relief to those who are "connected" or what have you to moi on social media, since i have shared a few there.
one does get to a point where there's a reflective finality to some experiences. you get to a stage where you are, intrinsically if not acutely, aware that a momentary meeting of someone, or being in a specific place, may well be the last time you ever are. don't be sad that it finished, be happy that it happened has, over the years, (very much) become my perspective on such. after north of 3 (three) years of virtual residency in London (innit) my time there is at an end. whilst it would be lovely to think another trip to the legendary 100 Club to celebrate another birthday is possible, it is not certainty that i shall see another such celebration dawn; it is unlikely that funding (or accommodation) would be available for such a voyage. oh, well.
right, well, that's that for this post. admittedly no, i haven't spent quite as much time as i perhaps should have done celebrating the excellence of the band KillerStar. not sure what else i could (feasibly) write of them beyond they are a truly outstanding band and it was one hell (or heck) of an amazing night. please give their album (or possibly by the time you read this albums) a try. thanks, as ever, for reading.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
