Review:
'Rebellion Festival 2025 Day One'
'At The Winter Gardens Blackpool'
- Album: 'Ruts DC, John McKay's Reactor, Resistance 77'
- Label: 'Infa-riot, Dead Stilettos, Uk Subs, The Priscillas'
- Genre: 'Punk/New Wave'
- Release Date: '7.7.25. Splodgenessabounds, David Delinquent'- Catalogue No: 'MC16, Dakka Skanks, Continental Lovers, Slackkr'
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Our Rating:
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Rebellion Festival is my favourite weekend of the year every year we go, this year was no exception, with massive thanks due to Darren and Jennie Russell Smith and the team that put on the festival, all the staff at the Winter Gardens and security team who help make sure this event runs almost like clockwork and trouble free, along with all the bands who play and everyone who turns up to have a great time listening to great music. This year my review is dedicated to anyone from overseas who either had tickets or was meant to play in any of the bands, who were refused entry to the UK and were unable to make it to Blackpool. During this year's festival I managed to see 53 bands and apologise to any of the others that I wanted to see and didn't, along with any guess work on song titles and band members.
This part features Anti-Virus, David Delinquent, Slackrr, Splodgenessabounds, Continental Lovers, Dakka Skanks, MC16, The Priscillas, UK Subs, Dead Stilettos, Infa-Riot, Resistance 77, John McKays's Reactor and Ruts DC.
Our journey up this year went well and we managed to check in to our B & B and get to the Winter Garden about an hour earlier than usual, so we had only missed one band we wanted to see. We started our Rebellion by getting into The Arena, just before that stages first band of the weekend came on, the Brazilian hardcore band Anti-Virus who were an angry thrashy hardcore four piece, who got a small pit going and had the first crowd surfer we saw at this years festival, while the singer screamed at us in Portuguese, he at least didn't sound like the Brazilian singers they play at our local Brazilian restaurant. They finished with their only English language song Mohawks & Skinheads that went down well, a good start.
We then went to The Old Vic and said Hi to David Delinquent while he wondered if he should tune up or not before going on, as long as it's close enough for punk it should be OK. Soon enough he started his solo set, sans his I.O.U.'s with Against The Head that had a bit of a Green Day vibe, he let rip at all the stiffs not at Rebellion on Your So Boring You Make Me Wanna Die, no matter how thick his Scottish brogue We Are Home made clear just how happy he and everyone else was to be at Rebellion once more. It was a good fun set with a good version of the Bobby Fuller classic I Fought The Law that everyone sang along too, before he made clear we should all Get Old Or Get Dead.
We then dived down into Club Casbah, for the first band of the weekend with a member who has recently recovered from illness, Scotty Perry has recently recovered from a broken leg, Slackrr are a super hard touring band from Southampton and also super tight in the very boomy expanse of Club Casbah, I think Holding On had the first big sing along of the set with the pop punk of We Are sounded great, they were infectious in the bands enthusiasm and the fun they all look like they are having, by the time they closed with Flame Or Fire they had a good amount of the crowd bouncing along with them.
It was then time for the first legend of the weekend when we dived back down into the arena for most of Splodgenessabounds set, Max was propped up on a seat letting us all know about what happened to Tough Shit Wilson, they played all the classics, we got Splodged and Max asked What's That Funny Noise with the tambourine shaking like it might have been that, before a packed Arena all sang along to the bands huge hit Two Pints Of Lager & A Packet Of Crisps Please a song that always makes me smile, complete with band intros and a false ending before Max was helped off stage.
We nipped straight over to the Opera House for Continental Lovers who brought plenty of sleazy glam with Joe singing about Paraffin Lips with the guitars raving it up, they are obsessed with St Joan like always, while having a good funny intro for Wedding Song before they closed with the bands classic tribute to the wonder that is Dale Arden who really is there kind of heroine.
We then went back to the Arena for Dakka Skanks the Brighton based Ska Punk band who were asking if we had Heard About Sally, we did now, Clara Byrne then told us they were covering her favourite Angelic Upstarts song that was dedicated to Mensi's memory before they tore through Brighton Bomb, it was properly explosive. The most touching part of the set was when Clara told us about going home to Zimbabwe for her father's funereal and being introduced to her younger brother she didn't know about, she dedicated Nigel to him and the fight they are having to get him out of Zimbabwe, a brilliant and very emotional song. I think Clara played her melodica on Dakka Dakka Dakka that got everyone skanking along with them before they closed with Ain't A Skinhead the bands anthem that makes clear that if your racist you ain't a skinhead, it was a great close to a brilliant set. I need to see them again soon.
We stayed in the Arena for MC16 the Wolverhampton agit-punk trio who played speedy tunes while bouncing around the stage, while Carson told us we Can't Stop Disneyland and the edgy Burn It Down that Carson prefaced by telling us he didn't mean the Winter Gardens, but the system and governments. Duffy's drums were super powerful on Cardboard and Shoot Em Up, the opening track on Machine Code, went down well with loads of people singing along to it. Not sure we got an answer to Who Called The Cops but it wasn't me. They finished with a song about Falling Short which was something this set didn't.
It was back to the Opera House for The Priscillas to be the most glamourous band of the day, with Jen Brown O'Drag strutting like She's The Kind Of Girl, who would tell us Don't Go Too Soon, they got properly Mysterious and they covered us in glitter for Jimmy In A Dress, before they sang the first song of the weekend about Holloway the bands classic single All The Way To Holloway that sounded great as did Plastic, while Jen railed against Modern Technology as she wants to be analogue. They made clear how much they despise the wrong sort of attention on the bands campaigning single Angela, about the code for asking for help in a bar, where you ask for Angela to let the staff know your date is trouble. They closed with a cool version of I Can't Help Falling In Love.
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We then had to queue to get into a rammed Empress Ballroom for UK Subs traditional set, we got in as Charlie was singing about a Police State again, it was hits all the way and at Charlie's age time Don't Matter At All seems truer than ever, Down On The Farm was all about Alvin's bassline, we all needed A Little Action before we found out Barbie's Dead and Charlie is still king punk and was throwing a Party In Paris where we all hoped to meet Tomorrows Girl, everyone got ready to sing along to Warhead that is sadly more relevant than it's been in a while. The Riot Squad were thankfully not needed, despite the Stranglehold The UK Subs have on all of us. I think Charlie may have accused Stephan Haublein of being Guilty of being another great Subs drummer before Charlie had a pop at the CIA who may have been responsible for him claiming I Live In A Car before they left us with a great is slightly scrappy version of Endangered Species and the entire Ballroom cheered another classic UK Subs set.
It was then time to choose a band to see because they have a good name, Dead Stilettos were on in The Pavilion on the Rebellion Introducing stage, the 5 piece Mancunian post punk band were singing I Wanna Be Deported with great menace and glee when we arrived, dirty sax squalls accompanied Too Little To Be Alive added a great sinister edge to the dark swirl they created, with the guitar emblazoned with a reworking of Woody Guthrie's classic into This Machine Kills Brain Cells and when then singer took his leather jacket off his T-shirt had the crucial message Hit Me With Your Car on it, while they swigged from a bottle of Buckfast's while singing Idles Suck. I loved the song that reworked Get Smart!! Classic Under The Rug, complete with some dark grating synth stabs. They had a tribute to Frank Skinner and finished by urging us all to get Onto The Streets, I want to see them again.
We went back to Club Casbah for some classic Oi punk from Infa Riot without any irony Lee was singing about The Old Man while sporting a cravat tucked into his Ben Sherman, Punk & Oi was the bands credo and they were having it, Lee insisted it was time for Power to the people and we all agreed with him, even before they insisted it was time we were all In For A Riot that meant they closed the set with a huge sing along and mosh pit.
We stayed for Resistance 77 who were back for the bands usual spot with Oddy back at fighting strength, they blasted out a message for us to Go To Hell, like normal they had lots of singing along and punching the air for everyone In The Street, but I decided that I needed to see a band I hadn't seen before so we left before the end of their set.
We went to the Opera House to see John McKay's Reactor who I had been hearing good things about, well despite having Jen Brown O'Drag and Yola from the Priscillas in the band they seemed to lack any spark of life whatsoever, so that having sat down, it only took about two or three songs for me to start having trouble staying awake, no matter how compelling Jen's Siouxie Sioux style routine was Steal The Light seemed apposite, the closest they came to a highlight was Hong Kong Garden I really wish I hadn't found this set stupefying, but I did.
We stayed put in the Opera House and the DJ woke me back up ready for Ruts DC our 14th and final band for the first day to fill the room with joy at Dave Ruffy being back with his new knee that still tapped out a perfect beat on opener Surprise, Segs was having fun as he had a go at that Back Biter, Kill The Pain was dedicated to the NHS for helping to lessen the Pain Ruffy had been in. Mighty Soldier had a deep skank and great sinuous guitar lines from Leigh Heggarty. This Music Must Destroy seems a more crucial message than ever, Segs made clear we are all Bound in Blood trying to make sure love and peace win out over hate and war. Also never blame the kids for the troubles of the world, we are all Born Innocent. Everyone sang long for Jah Wars and Staring At The Rude Boys. In A Rut had a cool dubby edge to it and broke down into a verse or two of Psycho Killer that just about left them time for Babylon's Burning and a parting shot of Psychic Attack and much thanks and encouragement to see they're acoustic set on Friday. We staggered out of the Winter gardens in search of some chips and some rest at the end of a brilliant first day.
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author: simonovitch
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