Ex-Sex Pistol drummer Paul Cook’s The Professionals kick off this post & punk doubleheader in some style. The band make the most of their forty-five minute set by cramming in a mix of new ‘n’ old Professionals cuts. ‘Join The Professionals’, ‘Good Man Down’ and ‘123’ all reverberate around the rapidly filling academy. The highlights of ‘Going Going Gone’ and ‘Rewind’ shine a spotlight on the bands 2017 album ‘What In The World’ which remains glued to my stereo. ‘Silly Thing’, ‘Hats Off’ and the post-punk classic ‘Kick Down The Doors’ wrap up a breathless opening set. The Ruts are performing the seminal ‘The Crack’ album in full for its fortieth anniversary. Opening with the usual fan favourite and encore ‘Babylon’s Burning’ has a premature desert before starter feeling but ‘S.U.S’ along with the still snarling ‘Something That I Said’ hold the end up.
The three-piece are as tight as Mclaren’s wallet as they simply deliver the goods and more. ‘Criminal Mind’ and the tubthumping ‘Backbiter’ give way to album closer ‘Human Punk’. With ‘The Crack’ completed the band return to drop some more recent DC cuts. The stunning duo of ‘Music Must Destroy’ and ‘Psychic Attack’ are both eclipsed by the timeless ‘In A Rut’ which remains a golden Ruts nugget. It’s left to the dancefloor standoff sing-along of ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’ to round off this deluxe doubleheader and drumming masterclass from both messers Cook and Ruffy.