Back to 1976 and the Rock'n'Roll revolution that sparked the UK punk scene!
Just over 50 years ago, a pivotal Punk moment occurred in London – on 4th July, at The Roundhouse, San Francisco-based Flamin’ Groovies headlined a show. New York’s Ramones were in support, making their UK debut. The Stranglers won the prestigious spot as British support act. Future members of iconic Punk bands including The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Damned, and Buzzcocks were in the audience, finding immediate inspiration in the raw, fast, three-chord sound – and UK Punk bands sped up their sound overnight!
So, for my own celebration of this moment in history, I made sure to grab a ticket for the Flamin’ Groovies ‘Shake Some Action‘ 50th-anniversary tour at London’s 229 Venue, where one of Rock’n’Roll’s all-time cult records would be celebrated on 19th Sepetember 2026. In support were Italian garage-soul lifers The Peawees and Dublin power-pop outsiders Music City.
“We’re a very international band!” declares Dublin-born, London-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Conor Lumsden, frontman of Music City. Members hail from Ireland, England and Brazil, apparently, and there are plenty of them spread across the 229’s wide stage. Their swaggering, catchy songs have several in the crowd dancing, despite the early hour! Music City‘s hook-driven, punk-fired debut album ‘Welcome to Music City‘ came out last February, and has clearly won them fans; many of the younger folk around me are singing along too.
The band’s exceedingly spirited drummer is a real highlight, as he channels his inner Animal with gusto! On this stage, there is always room for more, and an additional singer appears for the final two numbers ‘Common Sense‘ and ‘Pretty Feelings‘, adding her superb voice to the veritable cornucopia of compelling sounds. Music City‘s 8-song set provides a promising start to the evening.
As soon as they hit the stage, The Peawees take it up another level! Uniformly clad in skinny black jeans, there is plenty of hositing guitars and drum sticks aloft by the Italian quartet, as this telepathically tight band rock out to their own infectious brand of Rock’n’Roll! Frontman and founder Hervé Peroncini cuts a vibrant figure in his red velvet shirt, giving it his all with tremendous vocals and guitar solos.
Remarking that their 35-year career isn’t quite as long as that of the headliners, Peroncini, along with drummer Tommy Gonzalez, guitarist Dario Persi, and bassist Fabio Clemente nonetheless puts on a highly professional performance. Their 14-song set seems to fly by, with the crowd singing and dancing along to ‘Drive‘, ‘Don’t Look Back‘, ‘Wild About You‘, ‘Don’t Knock At My Door‘ and many other punchy numbers:
Clemente decides to take his bass out into the audience towards the end of the set, continuing to perform his gymnastic gyrations on the increasingly sticky 229 floor… Afterwards he impressively scales the very high stage to return to his bandmates; then The Peawees end their set with ‘Road to Rock ‘N’ Roll‘, ‘Food For My Soul‘, and many well-deserved cheers and cries for more!
Originally formed by Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney back in 1965, Flamin’ Groovies released their first three seminal albums ‘Supersnazz‘, ‘Flamingo‘, and ‘Teenage Head‘ before Roy Loney left the group in 1971. Chris Wilson replaced Loney, and the band went on release their now classic albums between 1976-1979: ‘Shake Some Action‘, ‘Flamin’ Groovies Now‘ and ‘Jumpin’ In The Night‘. Now fronted by remaining original member Cyril Jordan, ably assisted by Tony Sales on drums and co-lead vocals, with Atom Ellis on bass and Sean Fitzsimmons & Miki Rogulj on guitars; with such a vast back catalogue, the band have plenty of options for the setlist – but tonight they choose to include several covers early in their set.
It’s not a problem, as they play (for example) Randy Newman‘s ‘Have You Seen My Baby?‘ and The Beatles‘ ‘Misery‘ so well, but there’s a sense within the crowd that they are hoping to hear more orignal material… Fortunately, there’s not long to wait, with ‘You Tore Me Down‘ played second and ‘Don’t Put Me On‘, ‘I’ll Cry Alone‘, ‘Between the Lines‘, ‘Please Please Girl‘ and ‘Yesterday’s Numbers‘ rocking along, interspersed with Jordan’s comprehensive historical commentaries. Then comes the title track of the album we’re celebrating, although Jordan ruefully exclaims that it’s become a millstone around his neck:
He’s currently suffering with vertigo, which he attributes to “Rusian microwaves”, and after final number ‘Teenage Head‘, is steadied by his bandmates to walk from the stage. Fortunately, he’s able to return for one encore, and completes the set with ‘Jumpin’ in the Night‘, before thanking us and blowing a few kisses as he waves goodbye.
It has been a varied and splendid evening of music, and I have thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s show.
You can catch the Flamin’ Groovies back in the USA (after a month’s rest from their European tour) during the rest of the year, including dates with The Damned – details below:
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Baltimore, MD at Ottobar
- Wednesday, October 21, 2026 – Washington, DC at 9:30 Club (with The Damned)
- Thursday, October 22, 2026 – Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Steel
- Friday, October 23, 2026 – Hightstown, NJ at Randy Now’s Man Cave
- Saturday, October 24, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA at Union Transfer
- Sunday, October 25, 2026 – Millvale, PA at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls (with The Dracu-Las)
- Wednesday, October 28, 2026 – Cleveland, OH at Beachland Ballroom
- Thursday, October 29, 2026 – Detroit, MI at Majestic Theatre
- Friday, October 30, 2026 – Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall
- Saturday, October 31, 2026 – Chicago, IL at Concord Music Hall
- Monday, November 2, 2026 – Minneapolis, MN at First Avenue
- Wednesday, November 4, 2026 – Kansas City, MO at The Truman
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026 – San Francisco, CA at The Fillmore (with The Damned and The Courettes)
- Tuesday, November 17, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA at The Wiltern (with The Damned)
- Friday, December 11, 2026 – Santa Cruz, CA at The Crepe Place
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