Trio of music icons bring electric night of nostalgia to fans at top Yorkshire venue

Sex Pistols at Scarborough - photo by Dave Lawrence

Sex Pistols, The Undertones, and The Stranglers at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, on August 3

Review and photos by Dave Lawrence

SCARBOROUGH time warped back to the Seventies on Sunday night with an evening of punk nostalgia.

Three bands – The Undertones, The Stranglers and Sex Pistols – all performed on the same bill, each contributing their own share of iconic songs that made for a superb evening’s entertainment.

Yes, none of the bands have the line-ups that made them famous. Unsurprising given all had their first brushes with success more than 50 years ago.

It mattered not. For people of a certain age – self included – the music that these bands created came along at a pivotal time in our youth and I was happily transported back to being a skinny, spotty teenager.

The Undertones kicked things off in great style. They rattled through their set banging out classics like Here Comes the Summer, True Confessions, Jimmy Jimmy, Teenage Kicks, Get Over You closing with My Perfect Cousin. As many of their songs clock in around the two minute mark their set seemed over in a flash.

Undertones play Scarborough - photo by Dave Lawrence

The Stranglers followed, their signature sound – Burnell’s deep growling bass combined with rippling keyboards – grabbing the audience’s attention immediately with songs like Peaches, Nice ‘n Sleazy and Something Better Change sounding superb.

Chart friendly hits like Always The Sun, Golden Brown, Walk On By and Duchess were not forgotten and the set closed with pounding versions of Tank and No More Heroes.

The Stranglers play Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Photo by Dave Lawrence

Sex Pistols of course need little introduction. John Lydon continues to deride the current line-up with singer Frank Carter as “karaoke” but tell that to the thousands of ticket buyers having the time of their lives on Sunday. There were three bona fide Pistols on stage and in Carter they’ve found a front man who brings his own energy to the party.

The band’s set was short, but of course they only really released one album. Covers of the Stooges’ No Fun, Paul Revere and the Raiders’ Stepping Stone and Paul Anka’s My Way helped push the set beyond the hour mark.

In short, Sex Pistols were simply terrific – the dandyish Matlock on bass (last seen on this stage performing with Blondie), Cook lean and powerful behind the drums, Jones crashing out mighty riffs on his guitar and Carter a bundle of pent-up energy in his Smith’s The Queen Is Dead vest.

Sex Pistols at Scarborough - photo by Dave Lawrence

Opener Holidays in the Sun was followed by Seventeen and New York. Behind the band, old footage and headlines from their notorious heyday ran on the screen behind them.

For Pretty Vacant, Carter – who has breathed new life and joy into the band – was over the barrier and into the crowd orchestrating a mosh pit before being crowd-surfed back to the stage.

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A few songs later and it was the turn of God Save The Queen to get the audience moshing away in excitement.

There was only one way to bring a terrific show to a close, and that was with a rabble-rousing version of Anarchy In The UK that worked the audience up to a frenzy and sent them off into the night.