The opportunity to see a real life Sex Pistol in Manchester was simply too good to turn down. Glen Matlock was the original bass guitarist in the Pistols and subsequently returned several times to the band throughout the next few decades – this was despite his apparent fallouts with John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). The venue was Rebellion, a small live music venue very close to Deansgate train station in Manchester and the big question was whether Matlock would live up to his considerable reputation.
My arrival at the venue was very early, around 7:45pm but for good reason. The support band for this evening’s show was Klammer – a four piece post-punk outfit hailing from Leeds (and as we found out during the evening also Huddersfield). I had the pleasure of reviewing their latest release – a version of the classic Human League track “Being Boiled”. Being a little self-indulgent by quoting my own review I said that “Klammer have succeeded and managed to produce something that is at least as good as the original – and yet completely different.” and having heard this played live I stand by this.
There was a small crowd assembled for Klammer as they belted through some of their back catalogue at some pace. They had been given a tight time slot and they were very keen to get through as much material as possible. The crowd increased as many of those at the bar heard Klammer and wanted a closer look. They are a band that sound like they’ve been together 20+ years and with the vocal talent of lead singer Poss and the wild guitar sound of Steve Whitfield, it is clearly only a matter of time before they hit bigger and better things. The reality is that Klammer should already be headlining venues like this.
Our main event was not too far away with Glen Matlock taking to the stage at around 8:30pm, accompanied by Earl Slick who was part of his band. For those who aren’t aware, Slick is easily in the top ten guitarists in the world today and has played alongside David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith amongst others. He is just as much an icon in the world of music as Matlock and showed us exactly why throughout the night. Never have I seen in person a more natural guitarist - his playing is effortless but magnificent and he doesn’t miss a note. It was truly an honour to watch him play in this small Manchester venue.
Although a lot of focus is placed on the fact that Matlock was an original Sex Pistol, it is easy to forget just how much of a mark he has made on the music scene over the last five decades. Matlock was part of the Rich Kids, The Philistines, The Faces and The International Swingers – he was also in super-group Dead Men Walking for a few years in the early 2000s. Matlock reminded us just how much his music has influenced the last few decades as he played some of the classic songs he has written and performed during that time, including “Sexy Beast”, “Wanderlust”, “Speak Too Soon” and “Piece Of Work”.
Matlock also paid tribute to the recently departed Scott Walker, someone he admired and respected. He recounted the story of when he discovered Walker releasing an album of Jacques Brel-influenced songs translated into English – Brel was a Belgian singer / songwriter. He then went on to play Montague Terrace to a rapturous reception from the crowd inside Rebellion.
Matlock and his band returned for a two song encore, first there was the crowd pleasing Sex Pistols track “Pretty Vacant” which Matlock co-wrote and finally a cover of the Small Faces track “All Or Nothing” – The Small Faces being one of Matlock’s earliest influences. He remarked that he always closes his shows with this song as he never knows when a performance will be his last. On that subject, Matlock is 62 years of age but apart from giving up the alcohol he shows no signs of slowing down. I sincerely hope that he is playing his music for many years to come and that I get to hear a lot more of his performances.
Reviewer - John Fish
on - 31/5/19
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