Fun, Friendly and Fantastic - Undercover Festival XIII in words, videos and pictures..
A new location (at the Showground, Battlesbridge Antiques Centre), a slightly different format, yet still the same warm welcome, plus of course their accustomed array of top bands and artists. There are music festivals, and then there is Undercover Festival – a place where those of us who love alternative music will always make new friends, while discovering great new performers!
After a refreshing night’s sleep, and the aforementioned delicious cooked breakfast at Frasers B&B, Ruth Rae was ready for day 2 at Undercover 2025! A full afternoon and evening of bands and solo artists played across two stages; the Main Stage out in the events field, and April’s Acoustic(ish) Den of Iniquity, which also housed the bar..
Meanwhile, over on the Den stage, Wyrd Sisters had assembled their full band for the first of two sets today, with April (the stage’s namesake) fronting the group. Their lilting and uplifting music instantly had feet moving and heads bobbing. “That’s more of an audience than we usually get!’ remarked April to a good-sized crowd. They also closed the stage later, joined by Undercover organiser Mick Moriarty on the bodhrán – the less said about Mick’s state of undress by the end of the evening, the better!! Here’s a (clean!) video from their afternoon set:
Second band to grace the Main stage were Hinge, a local skatepunk influenced quartet. Formed as an excuse for old friends to be able to see each other during the UK lockdown, they drank beer and played in a workshop before building their own recording space. The Hinge ethos is a simple one: drink beer, have fun, play punk – we approve 100%! Their upbeat and funky set included a “new-ish song from a year ago, ‘Heading Out’, about going on holiday and not wanting to come back” – we can all relate! Here’s the next number from their set, ‘Contrasts’, on video:
Across in the Den, Static Kill played a great selection of inspiring songs. Impressing the crowd with their neat harmonisation, and with a versatile guitarist who also played mandolin, it was a solid acoustic performance. Bassist Jason Whittle owns Foreman’s Bar, the oldest bar and smallest live music venue in the city of Nottingham, and says he found it easier to play acoustically in the bar and on tour. There is a definite advantage to dragging less heavy equipment around and being able to set up anywhere – no matter what size venue!
Young local band Dharma Hounds took to the Main stage with a massive variety of punk sounds, sometimes heavy and hardcore, sometimes hip hop, always intense! Several of the crowd danced wildly throughout, as can be seen during the video below of their song ‘Let’s Talk‘. Ending their set with a mash-up of ska covers, they more than proved their comprehensive musical versatility. Definitely catch them when they play near you!
Another Essex band, Rat Hole, stormed the Main stage next. The now legendary hilarious on-stage duologue between the two vocalists included the revelation that drummer Dr Smackpot didn’t kill Charlie Kirk, but he admits that he does occasionally listen to ABBA.. Guitarist Johnny Sideways granted Smackpot leave to play a drum solo during ‘Prison‘, after polling the audience for their permission.. knock yourself out Smackpot! No, not literally.. Here’s a cracking video of ‘Shit Now‘, their first single release from 2023. Don’t forget to check out Rat Hole’s debut album ‘Proper Cunt Music‘ which dropped a couple of months ago – Sideways and Smackpot want everyone to know they are “real life punk rockers!”
Non-stop touring solo artist Fraser Morgan livened things up in the Den with his refreshingly honest and side-splitting set. His lively acoustic guitar was accompanied by amusing stories and songs about his life and his love of performing and touring. Mentioning his unique merch, including the “this is my crying towel” towel during his no-holds-barred banter, he even suggested using his T-shirts to mop up piss!
Another favourite Undercover band – the rambunctious Red Anger – hit the Main stage next! Vocalist Jamie actually stayed on the stage for quite a bit of their show for once, belting out the massive choruses of ‘Gods and Monsters‘, ‘Enemies‘, ‘London Calling‘, ‘No Lives‘ and ‘Insanity‘, ably backed by ace bassist Diz and lead guitarist Dave. Menace drummer Simon Edwards stood in for injured RA drummer Des, and once again did an admirable job. Rikki Flag from East Town Pirates led a ‘revenge’ conga line during ‘Flies‘, Red Anger‘s rhythm guitarist Fleagle having led one the previous day during the Pirates’ set! Of course I joined in, ‘Flies‘ is my favourite song from the most recent Red Anger album ‘Revolution Numb‘. A joyful and triumphant gig!
Bringing a bit of culture to the Den stage were punk poet / guitar maestro duo Cherry & Peesh. Starting with crowd favourite ‘Punk Mum‘, then Cherry B’s “I can write a revenge song” ‘Married To The Mod‘, the highly entertaining pair got topical with ‘Trump Card‘, an older number which has had to be resurrected due to recent events, then Cherry B’s ode to her old school cookery teacher, ‘Lady Kokaine‘. Recently invited to perform at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival, they also included several of their tributes to the ‘People’s Poet‘, from their ‘The Rik ‘N’ Roll Show‘ EP. A biographical cover of ‘The Young Ones‘, a song about Rik’s beastly politician character ‘Alan‘, and ‘The Four Horsemen‘, their tribute to fictional band Bad News, with the audience encouraged to shout out “Fuck off Bad News” during the chourus! Cherry & Peesh ended their fabulous set with ‘Yesterday’s Kids‘, dedicating it to all us festival goers!
Part of the festival who many were looking forward to – going by the number of band T-shirts in the crowd – Eastfield played a cracking set! The band were in fine form – “We’re a goth band” joked lead vocalist /guitarist Jessi – nah, they are pure punk rock n roll! A DIY band with a true punk spirit and ethos, Eastfield say “Humour can be a powerful weapon to use against and poke fun at the establishment. Musically we play 3 chord, sing-a-long, simple catchy songs.” The audience most certainly did sing and dance along, as the band blasted out their engaging songs, including ‘Pin Me To The Moral High Ground‘, ‘Railyard Blues‘ and ‘Paper Houses‘ – enjoy the video below!
Catch Eastfield playing at The Black Prince, Northampton on 7th November, and at the Grow Your Own Records event at The Pig in Hastings on 8th November!
Approaching their 50th year, the mighty Menace brought their own brand of musical mayhem to the Main stage as dusk fell. Fronted by original member Noel Martin, as always a bold stage presence, they swung into action with ‘Screwed Up‘, ‘Insane Society‘ and ‘Monkey‘ with the crowd bouncing and singing along! A surprise ‘Happy Birthday‘ from Noel and a cake from Tash appeared during ‘C&A‘ for Mark who was celebrating his 60th:
This band are punk family to me and many others, and their love and appreciation for their audience are always abundant – and returned in spades! The Menace set also included two newer tracks from last year’s ‘Death And Taxes‘ album; the title track and ‘Don’t Wanna Be Angry Anymore‘ with its familiar chorus. Ending on ‘So Fuck You‘ and ‘G.L.C.‘ with an excellent stage invasion (including yours truly!) the band were happy to share their mics with us:
Penultimate band on the Main stage were Eddie & The Hot Rods, continuing to bring the legacy of the band’s music to the masses! These days the band is fronted on vocals by previous bassist Ian ‘Dipster’ Dean, joined by vibrant drummer Simon ‘Basher’ Bowley and the versatile Richard Holgarth on guitar. Completing the line-up is bassist Mic Stoner (ex Chords UK). Treating us to a superb set, including their good old rock ‘n’ roll classics; ‘Quit This Town‘ ‘Life On The Line‘, ‘Teenage Depression’, and the Top Ten UK hit ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do‘ all kept the crowd happily bopping along.
The Hot Rods set also included newer songs from their last three studio albums, including most recent release ‘Guardians of the Legacy‘, such as #1 hit ‘Paradise‘ and the album’s title track. Hands, glasses and voices were raised and cheers rang out, as the band ended their set with the rockin’ ‘Gloria‘!
Headliners Skids – “Scotland’s most explosive band” – really needed no introduction, with the crowd all more than familiar with the band’s incendiary back catalogue of hits! Original vocalist and front man Richard Jobson remains the human dynamo he’s always been, soon dispensing with his tracksuit top to pogo around the stage in his vest. Every song was a sing-along, from openers ‘Charade‘ and ‘Of One Skin‘ to their infamously covered (by U2 and Green Day) ‘ The Saints Are Coming‘. The tireless tunes kept coming, including of course ‘Into The Valley‘, which the band like to hear echoed back from the audience – who were all in remarkably fine voice after a weekend of revelry!
There was plenty of mention of and respect for the late Stuart Adamson (band founder, songwriter and guitarist), although Jobbo laughingly admited that he’d “pissed Stuart off by putting him on the writing credits for the worst song I ever wrote” before playing the unaccountably popular ‘TV Stars‘. Throwing in a top Clash cover ‘Complete Control‘ then ending the festival with ‘The Olympian‘ and the crowd-pleasing ‘Charles‘, the audience roared their approval for this genuinely brilliant headliner!
Many of us finished the night letting our hair down in the bar to another splendid selection of early punk tunes from DJ Jerry Lunn‘s 45s, and we all agreed we’d had the best time at Undercover Festival 2025!
Many thanks to Trev Bossom for DJing between the bands on both days, and to organiser Mick Moriarty and the Undercover Team for all their hard work to pull off an unforgettable weekend of live music; to Danny and Sam from Powerhouse Studios for setting up and engineering the brilliant sound on the Main stage all weekend, to The Hedge Inspectors, Wyrd Sisters and Sean Quinn for providing the excellent sound and compering on the Den stage across the two days, to Keith Woodhouse for remembering the names of the bands he introduced on the Main stage, to Mark Blenkiron and his team at DIRT Norwich for creating and selling the Festival t-shirts, and ast but by no means least to Tash and Jen for co-organising the event and ‘doing the door’ on both days.
A special mention goes out to our friend Tracy Morgan, who would have been at Undercover Festival, loving the atmosphere and all the bands, but unfortunately she is undergoing medical treatment which made it impossible for her to attend this year. Tracy, I’ve written these reviews for you xx
Read more from Undercover Festival 2025: DAY 1
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: RUTH RAE
Videos: JIM C at Altered Natives and RUTH RAE at Polite Punk
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Usually found jumping around down the front at gigs, I also relish taking photos and videos, singing, speaking with fellow music fans, and asking musicians the questions nobody else does. Writing about my favourite bands and connecting with people who love music too keeps me more-or-less sane! I’ve worked for over 25 years at a video production company, mainly filming live music events, therefore I have an additional backstage perspective on the scene.
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