Gene Is The Singer - Chelsea Is The Band (Chelsea In Germany July 2025)

Octoberfest came early this year! Gene and his merry men were busy across Europe entertaining audiences at festivals and at their own headline gigs. The tour included several dates in Germany and here are two of them. 

Chelsea truely are part of the creation story around the birth of the London punk scene. They have been a consistent presence (albeit sometimes sporadic) on the live circuit. They never enjoyed the elevated status that was to be confirmed on their fellow pioneers such as The Clash, The Damned and the Pistols, and I don't think that kind of lionization would have been welcomed anyway.

I  think I have said this before on the site, whilst Chelsea may have a 1976 vintage, it is their 1982 album 'Evacuate' that is generally considered to represent the band's musical high point and I would concur with that, but if you consider the two sets athat are presented here, they were never short of some great tunes beyond the 'Evacuate' material, 'Urban Kids', 'High Rise Living', 'I'm On Fire'...

Chelsea are one of a handful of first wave bands that are preparing for the big birthday next year... 50 years as a band. Catch them if you can.

Many thanks to the Aural Sculptors' German correspondents, Peter for the audio and David Devant for the photographs. Always highly appreciated!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-x4A5xJXuqr

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-xRDpBZwyoQ

Chelsea at Sonic Ballroom, Cologne 3rd July 2025

(Photo: David Devant)

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-bC3HDMXWWl

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-alaDhjj7XA

Chelsea at Wageni, Bochum 4th July 2025

(Photo: David Devant)

Chelsea Acklam Hall North Kennsington 8th November 1980 and Klubfoot (Clarendon Hotel) Hammersmith 6th February 1988

 

Most folk who pass by this site will be familiar with Chelsea. They were one of the first wave of bands that sprouted from a collection of London based like minded people. When London SS split, bass player Tony James and drummer John Towe teamed up with Gene October and the sneer that went on to become Billy Idol and formed the first incarnation of Chelsea. They were very short lived and after only a handful of gigs the soon to be Idol, James and Towe departed to form Generation X. Gene retained the band name and regrouped.

Although Chelsea released a couple of singles whilst punk was in the ascendency, their debut, eponymous album did not see the light of day until the summer of 1979. Then came another split and more line up changes until the got back into the studio in January 1982 to record their second, and in my opinion definitive album, 'Evacuate' which was released to critical acclaim in May of that year. 

A Chelsea set these day still features quite a bit of that album and the singles released in the '81/'82 period are very strong too.

Here's a review of the album that appeared in Record Mirror.

Record Mirror (1st May 1982)

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-4XABeid7P3

Acklam Hall North Kennsington 8th November 1980

01. Free The Fighters
02. Decide
03. Right To Work
04. Fools And Soldiers
05. Right To Work

I am gutted that I wasn't at this gig... what with 999 headlining and the Four Guns in the bill too, a great band from Brighton (a fusion of Generation X, The Clash and the Small Faces!) that I used to go and see quite a lot back in the day.

Klubfoot (Clarendon Hotel) Hammersmith 6th February 1988

06. Decide
07. Evacuate
08. No One's Coming Outside
09. All The Downs
10. How Do You Know?
11. War Across The Nation
12. Only Thinking
13. I Fought The Law
14. You Really Got Me
15. Urban Kids
16. Right To Work

20 From '77(20) Chelsea John Peel Session 21st June 1977

Now here's a bad with a bit of history. Chelsea were one of the bands there at the dawn of '77 punk. A band whose first line up fractured to give rise to another name band of the time.... Generation X. Chelsea are a very good band actually and still periodically playing today. Here's the session that they did for John Peel back in the Summer of 1977.

On drums for this session was Carey Fortune, one time Stranglers' roadie.

For the best of Chelsea, I would urge you to sniff out their 1982 album 'Evacuate'.

WAV: https://we.tl/t-zO5tQvv611

01. No Admission
02. High Rise Living
03. Right To Work
04. Pretty Vacant
05. Blind Date

Going Undercover - Tufnell Park Dome 27th April 2019

Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69)

Undercover Festival 27th April 2019

(Photograph Mo Andrews)

A few weeks ago an old college friend of mine contacted me to say that he was due to be in London  (from Dublin) for the weekend of 26th April and were we free to meet up. Moreover, he enquired whether there were any gigs in town on the Saturday night. Well, by chance the Dome in Tufnell Park was hosting the Undercover Festival and the Saturday line up was looking very good indeed boasting Penetration, Chelsea and Sham 69!

My mate Stuart, Gunta and Mo met up in The Astronomer pub in Middlesex Street, Shoreditch. Son, Rudi, joined us and a few pints were sunk as Stuart and I regaled him with student accommodation horror stories, although having seen his digs in Colchester I reckon that he has a fair few of his own!

In the end Rudi departed for home and the remaining three headed for the venue. Once inside the adjacent pub the adults settled in to watch the remaining minutes of the Brighton game whilst the daughter opted to head inside, doubtless to ensure that she would be right at the front, but also to see Menace. Game over we entered the venue just as Penetration were taking to the stage.

Pauline and Robert of Penetration

(Photograph Mo Andrews)

It was great to see Penetration again in such an intimate setting. Penetration always stood out from the punk crowd and its great to see that they are playing new material..... 'Movement' not inertia! It was fitting that they opened with 'Nostalgia' which was duly dedicated to Pete Shelley. At the point in the set where they played their debut single 'Don't Dictate', I was momentarily distracted by the bar. Returning with a pint for Stuart, my ears pricked up to a change in the vocal on the chorus of 'Don't dictate, don't dictate, don't dictate, dictate to me!', that wasn't Pauline. Looking at the stage it was clear that Pauline had offered the mike to someone at the front and it was Mo no less belting out the lines! Point taken Mo, it would be futile if I tried too!

Mo disappeared downstairs to catch The Piranhas at this stage whilst the oldies stuck around for Chelsea. Gene October and James Stevenson gave the occasion a genuine '77 feel. Chelsea were great, but the trouble I had was that the stage was set up in such a way that the barrier was forward of the PA and so the sound where we were was awful, being limited to what was coming through the monitors. Great view, shit sound. Chelsea were well received and a great warm up for Sham.

Gene October of Chelsea

(Photograph Mo Andrews)

Sham 69 took to the stage at about 10pm, Pursey, Parsons and Treganna, three quarters of the classic line up! Pursey opened by shaking his tail feather at the audience dressed like a modern day Fagin!

'I Don't Wanna' excerpt.

The set that followed was just a joy. Opening with 'What Have We Got' a chorus/response number with the simplest of requirements. I think that the band tried out a couple of new songs, 'Tear Gas Eyes' and 'Bastille Cake' but other than that the set was a greatest hits affair that none could have a problem with. Relying heavily on the bands earliest days with 'Ulster Boy', 'I Don't Wanna', and 'George Davis is Innocent', the set was supplemented with all of the expected singles as well as a couple of favourite album tracks such as 'That's Life' as well as the B-Side 'No Entry'. At the end of the gig Mo bagged possibly the biggest set list that I have ever seen (printed on A3). Are Sham 69 the most short-sighted band on the circuit?! Thanks Jim, what a great night out!

Chelsea Haus Der Jugend Dusseldorf 23rd July 2016

In a continuation of the 'In Support' theme, here's a very recent, and very good, recording of Chelsea, one of many first wave of UK punk bands marking their fortieth anniversary this year. In those forty years Gene has played with almost everybody..... but on 21st November 1976 they were to be found on the same stage as The Stranglers in The Nashville Rooms in West Kensington.

Sincere thanks to the original taper for sharing this one with me!

FLAC: https://we.tl/ANmJmieBP9

Artwork: https://we.tl/gKAT6QPAO3

01. S.A.D.
02. 12 Men
03. Come On
04. How Do You Know?
05. I’m On Fire
06. The Loner
07. No Flowers
08. Johnny Has No Respect
09. War Across The Nation
10. No Admission
11. Urban Kids
12. This Is Now
13. We Don’t Believe You
14. Evacuate
15. No One’s Coming Outside
16. Last Drink
17. Right To Work

Chelsea Klubfoot (Clarendon Hotel) Hammersmith 6th February 1988

Still going strong, Chelsea, a '77 vintage band of the first wave are captured here doing a great sounding, though relatively short set, in London.

FLAC (new link with additional Acklam Hall (1980) tracks): https://we.tl/t-4XABeid7P3

01. Decide
02. Evacuate
03. No One's Coming Outside
04. All The Downs
05. How Do You Know?
06. War Across The Nation
07. Only Thinking
08. I Fought The Law
09. You Really Got Me
10. Urban Kids
11. Right To Work

And also on a Chelsea theme, I came across this little piece on Youtube recently. A punk tour of London (at least central London) made by James Stevenson Chelsea's former guitarist.