With The Meffs, UK Subs, The Steve Ignorant Band, the Subways, Random Hand, No Idea, Violet
Colchester Charter Hall
May 2nd 2026
Punk was initially never about anniversaries – it was too new, too young and in too much of a rush, but here we are fifty years since those early 1976 shows by the Sex Pistols that sparked a seismic cultural sea change.
Of course, there are endless arguments about when punk started and who started it etc etc etc but here we are with what was once ‘no future’ is now being ‘still here’.
The raucous spirit of the form is currently in very rude health, with the likes of our hosts tonight, The Meffs, whose incendiary live show has created yet another new dynamic in the form, celebrating the many generations of the form with their third and biggest so far Meff-fest.
The festival, held in their home town of Colchester, has gone from local venue size to nearly a 1000 people in the local Charter Hall and sees a great mixture of 16 year olds playing their fourth ever gig to the 81 year old Charlie Harper defying everything to still deliver his punk rock originals unchanged and untainted after decades in the frontline.
Openers Violet are five teenage riot girls who are the youthful openers. It may be their fourth gig but they are assured and sound great with a tight well-delivered set mixing covers with their own originals that stand out already. Unfazed by the big stage, they ooze potential. Another gang of young hopefuls, No Idea are three indie rocker lads who make a great garage punk rush that is like a distorted Libertines. They look assured and have the tunes in their armour, and yet again are another example of the endless permutations of guitar driven punk rock that is still out there.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Random Hand yet the hard-working Yorkshire-based ska-infused punk rock crew are as vibrant as ever bouncing around the stage to their precision tight anthems aided by their sweat-shod brass section, creating a high-energy riot of their own.
Temporarily reduced to a duo with bassist Charlotte Cooper having a quick break, The Subways perform as a duo, bringing stripped down brisk acoustic workouts of their indie action to the stage. Their aching tunes underline why the band managed to score several top 40 indie albums and they manage to hold their own on the punkier bill.
Steve Ignorant is from sort of round these parts and is an impassioned reminder of the potent power of Crass with a set of songs from the band who brought a utopian poetry into punk a couple of years after the Pistols had blowtorched the scene. These old songs never lose their ability to jolt you and his current band pays a worthy homage to his former colleagues, whose avant garde twists and turns on the punkorama created a startlingly abrasive yet inventive music of military drumss zig zag guitars and passion vocals ripped from the soul that decried the claustrophobia of the period and were artfully intelligent and yet often like terrace anthems for teenage anarchists. Crass could somehow do pop culture through a fuzzbox and avant gate Stockhausen modern classical in the same song, whilst creating a mosh pit of wired idealistic teenage rampage. Half a century later Steve Ignorant still rips himself apart delivering these songs and Carol makes cool weird noises with her keys and sings the Eve Libertine parts with a total understanding of the off-kilter melodies and dynamics of the originals.
Special guests UK Subs are punks’ eternal soul and an object lesson in how to keep your edge and never take your music for granted. In the punk scene, Charlie is an icon for his belief in the power of rock n roll and his defiant age-defying enthusiasm for the form and as ever, is checking out the new bands, sharing his time with the audience and giving off a radiant energy. His current line-up with long term band bassist Alvin Gibbs has never sounded better, and the sound out front underlines their rhythmic complexity that is often overlooked with the new guitar player nailing the Nicky Garret guitar dynamics in a thrilling set.
The Meffs are rightfully greeted like conquering heroes and are everything a punk band should be in 2026. For a start they deconstruct the ancient guitar, bass and drums and singer/four blokes template of the ancient times with a tight, compact duo of powerhouse drummer Lewis and the effervescent energy rush of singer, guitar player Lily, whose great guitar playing fills all the gaps and makes the duo sound like an orchestra. The songs are anthems, and they have a rhythmic power that even hints at the primal rush of Killing Joke. Lily is a charismatic presence and a cheerleader for the punk rockers of varying shapes, ages and styles. There is plenty of sing-along action but also plenty of smart reconstructing of the ancient chassis. The Meffs have somehow managed to make punk rock sound like it’s if the now and are winning hearts and minds with their constant touring and creating yet another voice in the punk rock family of noise.
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