Beautiful blue skies welcome ten thousand-ish alternative festival-goers who give Rebellion as much credence as Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries on their yearly calendars. The first thing I notice after collecting my wristband is the queue for next years tickets at the box office with the savvy early birds grabbing a Blackpool bargain as a limited amount of 2020 weekend tickets were available for a mere £150.00, they sold-out. To those who’ve never been to this iconic festival let me give you some information that may paint a more descriptive picture of the review below.
THE VENUE. The indoor Winter Gardens is split into seven live venues, The Empress Ballroom (main stage), Club Casbah, Pavilion, Opera House (only all-seater), Arena, Rebellion Introducing and the Almost Acoustic stage which is situated in the first bar you encounter when walking through the hallowed double doors. Each stage has between ten and fourteen bands on each day from 1145am with the last band hitting the boards at midnight or just after. The doors open at 11 am on Thursday and 12 pm on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. The Winter Gardens are smack bang in the middle of Blackpool and you are no more two minutes from the seafront, the centre and the towns famous tower.
FOOD. There are multiple food vendors inside Rebellion including a sit-down restaurant, Hot Dog stand, mash & gravy and buffet type cafe serving some fair priced filled baguettes that help to soak up the beer and water. Outside you have every obvious high street choice available including a Greggs, Pizza Express, Bella Italia, Pound cafe, chip shops and some superb independent restaurants and cafes. Being a vegetarian or vegan is no issue as both inside and out you’ll be well (if not better) catered for. If you end up in the backstage area you’ll only find vegetarian and vegan food on offer.
LIQUID REFRESHMENT. A pint of lager/bitter/cider inside will set you back £4.20 (a 20p rise on last years prices) a bottle of Diet/normal Pepsi/sprite is £2.50 with spirits coming in at between £3-4 a shot depending on your tipple. Free tap water was available at every bar and in every venue. You can’t bring your own food or drink inside. Outside the venue, many of the local bars are playing punk related music all day and some even put on bands to try to attract the Rebellion crowd. I favoured the sports bar no more than a minutes walk from the main entrance and paid £2.60 for a pint of Fosters or John Smiths, (Can’t-miss soccer Saturday!). Whereas as in the two fantastic Italian restaurants I paid £4.50 for a pint of ice-cold Morretti. Every budget is catered for in Blackpool.
HOTELS. Blackpool is B&B heaven with every street boasting “Voted Blackpools best B&B” signs. The hotel chains are coming with Premier Inn, Hilton and Ibis already sprouting up for those who crave a little bit more in the way sleeping luxury.
POLICE. The only time I saw the Police called into action over the whole weekend was to have selfies taken with various mohawked festival-goers.
SECURITY. The Rebellion security firm is by far the best I’ve ever encountered. They are patient, friendly and understand the festival and those who attend, perfect really.
TICKETS. Early bird 2020 tickets will set you back £160 but the price will rise throughout the year. Single-day tickets normally cost £70 per day and this year both Friday and Saturday sold out way in advance. Weekend tickets, however, were available.
WHAT TO WEAR. Whatever you want literally, there is no fashion judgement here. T-shirt and shorts worked for me in the heat but many came in full punk outfits, leather jackets bondage trousers etc. If people-watching is your pastime then Rebellion is a feast for the eyes with many “normal” holidaymakers just sitting down and taking it all in and observing OAP’S getting photo’s taken with Punks and Skins is quite an emotive thing.
WEATHER. As an indoor event, the usual outdoor festival weather headaches are not a problem, that said it was at times unbelievably hot inside the main venues but bearable, just. The free water helped as did being able to walk in and out of the Winter Gardens to get some fresh air.
Music…
THURSDAY.
THE DESCENDANTS headlined the Empress Ballroom on the first day while SPEAR OF DESTINY drew a huge crowd for their 11.30 pm slot at the Opera House. Both FEAR and POISON IDEA gave the Casbah a first and last Rebellion while The MANC LADS took the top spot at The Pavilion. It all started with an excellent set from CODENAME COLIN on the Introducing Stage before MILLIE MANDERS AND THE SHUT UP turned the Casbah into a head-bobbing mesh with their multi-genre sound. Scottish noise merchants THE CUNDEEZ should come with an interpreter but the bagpipe punks certainly know how to deliver before legendary Brazilian Punks INOCENTES powered through the language barrier with bulldozing set of head removing riffs and they overran by ten precious minutes.
THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS Five ‘o’ Clock slot was so well attended that security were turning people away ten minutes after they took to the stage as the Empress capacity had been well and truly met. After five years of playing any and every Rebellion stage, the BSP’s strode out to rapturous applause and the band looked confidently surprised before they launched into an incendiary forty-minute set. ‘Start New’, ‘One Fool Down’, ‘Bar Stool Preacher’ and a booming ‘Trickledown’ got the late afternoon throng singing, skanking and swaying. The BSP’s are the real deal and a band that look set to break into the mainstream. SKACIETY always get a great reception and today’s no different but the searing heat inside the Pavilion doesn’t help the numbers. STEVE IGNORANT’S SLICE OF LIFE provides a first jaw-dropping moment. Music can hit you when you least expect it and while watching SOF I was genuinely overcome, it was a truly stunning set and one to catch if it heads your way. QUEEN ZEE didn’t draw the crowd I thought they would for their first RF but unabated the band produced a dayglow show of passion energy and attitude. The band’s debut is one of 2019’s finest releases and with cuts like ‘Loner’, ‘Porno’ and ‘I Hate Your New Boyfriend’ Queen Zee have the full package.
FRIDAY.
Sold Out signs greeted the bleary-eyed festival-goers and this was mainly due to THE STRANGLERS headlining the main stage Friday night slot. RISKEE AND THE RIDICULE bring some stonking grime punk to the early birds, ‘Kaboom’ indeed while MAX SPLODGE and RAT BOY entertain the acoustic stage with a magic show and some x-rated comedy bingo. The dapper Dunsten Bruce and INTERROBANG dissect the human psyche with a breathtaking performance at the busy Opera House. ‘Now Then’, ‘Asking For Friend’ and the slowly rising anger of ‘Mad As Hell’ all resonate around both the head and heart. ARGY BARGY give it some Oi! And the finale of ‘One More Drink’ is bellowed back to Watford Jon and co before SPUNK VOLCANO AND THE ERUPTIONS wheelspin round Casbah in an uninsured ‘XR3’. The sing-a-longs run fast and quick with ‘Ram Raid’, ‘Death Or Glory’ and the pantomime punk of ‘Hanging Round The Shops’ all sit like a mastiff on an old sofa, in Spunk’s can covered front garden.
BOOZE AND GLORY show their musical muscle as they land a volley of body blows to a now dripping Casbah. The heat is at times almost unbearable and although the Winter Gardens provided more than enough free water most punters struggled and dived in and out of venues rather watch a whole set. Forty years since ‘The Crack’ was released and it still sounds fresh and vital as do THE RUTS DC. ‘In A Rut’, Staring At The Rudeboys’, ‘Human Punk’ and the much-covered ‘Babylons Burning’ leave the Empress beaming and breathless. The UK SUBS draw huge numbers as they run through their debut album and other selected hits ‘n’ misses. Charlie Harper is a whopping seventy-five years old but the Lemmy of punk can still deliver a show even in ninety-degree heat. ‘Warhead’, ‘Tomorrow’s Girl’ and ‘C.I.D’ sit alongside the album tracks and the Empress roof is now literally dripping.
SATURDAY.
COCK SPARRER are in town and so are hordes of the band’s loyal followers as the band’s iconic logo is to be seen to be on almost every other t-shirt in and around the town centre. THE DERALLAS are building quite a following and their trash city bubblegum blowing punk rock goes down like a fluorescent slush puppy on this baking hot day. Armed with many main stage tunes like ‘Highrise Supersize’ it can’t be long before they move to a more prestigious slot on the Rebellion roster. DESPERATE MEASURES have the perfect post-punk tune in ‘1984’ while GIUDA’S boot-boy Rock ‘n’ Roll strikes a chord with the original skins and punks alike. THE OUTCASTS provide the most Punch ‘n’ Judy punk show of the weekend as the one-liners and classic tunes flow including another cover of ‘1969’ Iggy must be on some sort of Rebellion backhander. HR FROM BAD BRAINS lays down his own Reggae-Punk set with ‘Re-Ignition’ inducing some out of step dad dancing before D.I.Y punks WONK UNIT tear through tales of late-night trains, horses and crack houses, Alex and co are always a festival highlight. The late Micky Fitz is remembered by THE BUSINESS EVENT as Oi! Pays its respects in the loudest way possible. The COCKNEY REJECTS are old hands with young knees as they pummel the Empress with their terrace anthem heavy set but Saturday belongs to one band and one band only. COCK SPARRER are greeted with the loudest roar of the entire weekend and as they launch into ‘Riot Squad’ the floor before them morphs into a sweltering mass of arms, legs and sweat-drenched bodies. ‘Watch Your Back’, ‘Working’ and ‘One By One’ continue the celebration and it is a celebration and a fucking belting one at that. The band and Rebellion join as one to remember the much-missed Kathy Rocker who passed away earlier in the year. Lead singer Colin Mcfaull is joined by Kathy’s husband Andy for a poignant ‘Gonna Be Alright’. The building shakes as ‘Runnin’ Riot’, ‘Where Are They Now’ and the heavyweight ‘Take Em All’ sends the band stage left. The encore of ‘Argy Bargy’ is overtaken by the often misunderstood but anthemic ‘England Belongs To Me’ which is hollered from the first word to the last before ‘We’re Coming Back’ completes another chest-thumping Cock Sparrer carnival. Band and performance of the weekend, bar none.
SUNDAY.
HANDS OF GRETAL help clear the muzzy heads at just before 1 pm on the main stage and the band draw a ridiculously busy (and hungover) crowd as do the SUEDE RAZORS who continue the boot boy bounce. DIRT BOX DISCO are a Rebellion staple and the new stripped-back line-up now has Spunk Volcano on lead vocals who took over from the departing Weab. ‘Burning’ and ‘Bastards’ are followed by the DBD favourite ‘My Life Is Shit’ while the former DBD frontman’s KID KLUMSY reinforce their growing reputation with ‘Mr Right Man’ being a standout cut. CJ RAMONE has an open goal to tap the hits into and he scores with ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’, ‘The KKK Took My Baby Away’ and the song that many thought may have started this whole punk thing ‘Blitzkrieg Pop’.
Post-punk popsters THE PROFESSIONALS play the crowd perfectly mixing new and old with a couple of Swindle tracks thrown in for good measure. ‘Silly Thing’, ‘Payola’, ‘Join The Professionals’, ‘Lonely Boy’ and ‘Rewind’ all hit the spot. THE SKIDS are possibly the best live band on the punk circuit at the moment and their set tonight is another blue-chip winner.
Richard Jobson still windmills around the stage while delivering such anthems as ‘Circus Games’, ‘Masquerade’ and ‘The Saints Are Coming’. ‘Into The Valley’ sends the rammed Empress into a frenzy although I still can’t decipher the lyrics! It’s left to THE DAMNED to close and they do in some style as perform the seminal ‘Machine Ettique’ in full. ‘Melody Lee’, ‘Love Song’, ‘Plan 9 Channel 7’ and the superlative ‘ Smash It Up’ finish four days of Rebellion madness.
Walking back to the Hotel for the last time it seems inconceivable that the four days are over already but with true British stoicism chips and curry sauce help the post-Rebellion blues, roll on 2020!
Rebellion also has an excellent Art fair situated in the upstairs Spanish Rooms with artwork from all over the Punk globe. Stain glass, mirrors, canvas, cartoons and various portraits are all available and if you are looking for something to hang that no-one else we own then this is the place to buy those one-off conversation pieces.
2020 tickets are already on sale with both SHAM 69 and THE DICKIES already announced.
For more the latest Rebellion festival information including tickets, merchandise and bands go to http://www.rebellionfestivals.com/