Hundreds of damp punks in a Prison Yard watching The Sex Pistols – what could be a better or more fitting way to end a tour on a Friday evening in Fremantle?
We started the evening just down the road watching the Fred Perry brigade and more tartan trousers than we’d seen in the preceding couple of decades make their way towards Fremantle Prison, it was like a step back in time at points as clouds loomed large around the venue and the only outdoor date of the 2025 Pistols tour. As we got closer the diversity of the crowd became more apparent with die-hard Punks in full regalia mixing with men and women in their late 60’s and 70’s proudly espousing their memories of past Pistols encounters. The younger just listened to the pronounced, mainly cockney accents, telling tales of what had already been.
The lead up to the show and the Tour has of course been interesting, with the absent original member of the band making his usual sneering comments about his replacement, but then you’d expect that from John, who continues to belittle and chide anything he doesn’t agree with all the vim and vigor he always has. We, on the other hand just came for the music and to see what the chemical reaction would be when the already remarkable Frank Carter collided with the core of one of Britain’s most important cultural icons.
There would be a 10% chance of rain they said as thick drops started to fall from the skies as we sat in the bar just round the corner from the venue listening to the sounds of traditional French accordion renditions of Pistols classics, largely sung in strong French accents and occasionally even with French lyrics. It made an interesting interlude before the walk up to the prison. It also showed the impact The Pistols’ legacy continues to have.
The Sex Pistols of course were musical and cultural icons whose scant original output was far exceeded by their legend. I’d wager that at least 80% of the gathering crowd, which grew despite the rain, had never seen the band before. Most of us were just born too late, and it’s always cool to check in on the health of a legend. So as the rain came down, increasing in intensity largely after the openers had finished their set, you wondered how the ‘gentlemen of a certain age’ would go with their footing as the crew frantically mopped the stage. Tonight was the night – the end of the tour – an event made even more essential by the long shadow of the uninvited John Lydon.
What we saw was glorious…
After a short, sharp, entertaining and largely rain free set by Melbourne band ‘Civic’ who came across well with their antipodean take on garage punk, there was a noticeable edginess to the crowd, the big question of course was ‘would it work?’ That was answered pretty quickly.
Carter does what needs to be done, From the off he’s a force of nature, avoiding pastiche and cleverly sidestepping repetition, whilst battling the elements like us all, he soon has the crowd onside. After the wild and windswept cheers for Cook, Jones and Matlock who stride onto the stage all smiles and swagger like old mates ready for a night out down the boozer, Carter appears like a dervish. What follows is weather assisted mayhem.
Here to play their iconic 1977 album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ in its entirety. It’s been almost three decades since the Sex Pistols last played in Perth where they ended that Tour at the now defunct Entertainment Centre, so it seems fitting today that this tour ends in Fremantle. Even more fitting perhaps that it is in the prison, which is usually a wonderful venue, but tonight in the rain, the majority of the crowd is wishing they could be inside rather than out in the yard! There’s an early quip about the potentially slippery stage “I don’t want to die in Fremantle. Not in a Prison” which lightens the mood after the gloriously ironic opener “Holidays in the Sun.” It’s the first real rain we’ve had in the West in months…
This might just be Frank Carter’s sweariest gig, and certainly the sweariest show I’ve been too, and that consistent level of ‘F’s’ and ‘C’s” gains about a 95% crowd approval rating. Going into the pit the photographers were warned to make sure they got out after three songs as Frank was liable to storm the pit and then the crowd. So of course Frank, being Frank by the second song he was down there causing chaos as the band belted out ‘Seventeen’.
Still in the crowd for ‘New York’ the crowd that had been pleased to see him were now part enthralled, and part in the palm of his outstretched hand! And as the rain fell you felt that for all the right reasons this was a show that would be hard to forget as he led the circular mosh that had minutes before been a packed crowd that just swelled as the barriers were moved out to allow the regular punters access to the premium economy section.
That move of course was all health and safety – due largely to the horizontal lightning that lit up the stage form behind as the storm rolled in… It only led to one fight though initially, as Frank remonstrated with the offenders who finally stopped throwing punches “Typical Aussies” he quipped “Beating the shit out of each other one minutes, sharing a beer the next”. As the band played on he made sure all was well, “Now shake hands” he commanded, then paused “Now kiss!” The crowd roared with laughter.
Musically the Pistols 2025 are tight, and one imagines rather tighter than they were back in ’77, and with the entire crowd belting out every word to every song whilst being drenched through it’s a sight not seen that often! ‘Pretty Vacant’ when it came almost threatened to stop the rain it caused that much heat and ‘Bodies,’ always the Pistols most macabre lyric, is spat out nicely.
My favourite Pistols song ‘Silly Thing’ may also be their most melodic, and tonight it sounded wonderful. But man, ‘Liar’ Frank really nails that one! And all that built up to a riotous ‘God Save the Queen’ the song that launched it all really, banned from Top of the Pops it was so shocking back in the day, today it all seems rather nostalgic and inextricably tied to the Silver Jubilee and the British Summer of ’77.
With Carter introducing the band during The Stooges ‘No Fun’ you can feel the joy both for both he and the crowd as the main men get their intro and mini-solos “It’s been an honour and a privilege to share the stage with these gentlemen every night” he tells the crowd to huge roars of approval, and before the crunching riff of ‘Satellite’ kicks in he confides that he knows we might weigh a lot more than we did in ’77 and we might have a number of aches and pains “but you’ve got the next 30 minutes to enjoy yourselves” and you can spend the next week recovering!
The set closes with three classics: the frenetic self-appreciative, anti-anthem ‘No Feelings’ has everyone singing and pogoing; whilst ‘Problems’ ups the ante yet more before a spectacular ode to the label ‘EMI’ has us all wet yet exhausted…
The encores are pure theatre and all you need to witness to know why Frank and The Pistols work so well. Carter’s take on the encore ‘My Way’ is wonderful and poignant- starting out with the band sat silhouetted on the drum riser behind him he croons his best Sinatra before breaking down into pure Punk rock and roll. And imagine this… Imagine a night that ends with you belting out ‘Anarchy in the U.K. into the eye of the storm… It’s as mad as it is wonderful. They say old Punks never die…. tonight we know they’ll live on forever.
Putting aside the nostalgia for a minute there was something so essential about tonight, something that made the crowd as one defy the rain and enjoy some kick ass Rock and Roll. Frank Carter is an inspired choice to front this band in 2025, he’s the consummate front man and tonight he gets the balance between sheer rock and roll joy and reverence just right. This is Punk Rock how it should be, though to be honest we could have done without the rain… Now how about a new album? Wouldn’t that be cool?
SET LIST:
Holidays in the Sun
Seventeen
New York
Pretty Vacant
Bodies
Silly Thing
Liar
God Save The Queen
No Fun (The Stooges)
Satellite
No Feelings
Problems
E.M.I.
Encore:
My Way
Anarchy In The U.K.
With thanks to Live Nation, Face to Face Touring and Revolutions Per Minute for the media access.
