A mighty return for the cult heroes of eighties rock’n’roll!
In early October, I marked forty years of going to gigs, so seeing a cult band that hadn’t performed live in almost four decades at the iconic 100 Club felt like the perfect bookend to that journey.
Formed in London in 1983, Twenty Flight Rockers brought together Gary Twinn, former vocalist of Australian glam-rock pioneers Supernaut, and ex-Generation X drummer Mark Laff. They were joined by guitarist Ian McKean and bassist Jeff D. Vine, completing a line-up dedicated to reviving rock ‘n’ roll with a modern punch.
Heavily influenced by the likes of Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, and Johnny Kidd, the band adopted its name from Cochran‘s famed ‘Twenty Flight Rock’. Combining the leather jacket look and defiance of the classic British rocker movement with the intensity of punk, Twenty Flight Rockers forged their own blistering brand of modern rock’n’roll with high octane live performances.
1985 saw the release of the brilliant debut single ‘Tower Block Rock’ closely followed by second single ‘Johnny 7’. Neither charted and record company changes saw the band dropped before they could release an album. By 1989, the band was no more and Gary went off to form The International Swingers with Glen Matlock, James Stevenson and Clem Burke.
So here we are in 2026 at a sold out 100 Club with Twenty Flight Rockers back to celebrate the official release of the much bootlegged ‘Live ‘85’, along with new material that’s on the way.
Opening tonight are The Holy Mothers who have risen from the ashes of the excellent Jo-Jo and The Teeth. The band arrive fresh on the scene promising “A raw, grungy, ferociously beating heart, Gothic, theatrical flair, powerful vocals and a lot to say from a soul scorned”. The new sound is certainly heavier, but Jo-Jo O’Donoghue’s powerhouse vocals still dominate the band’s sound, as she prowls across the stage. It’s a winning formula that wins over the crowd within a few songs and shows much promise for the future. Definitely a band to watch.
By 9.15pm the venue is rammed and Twenty Flight Rockers make their long-awaited return to the London stage. Reports from a couple of warm up gigs in Forfar and Chichester have been very positive and the expectant crowd is eager to make this a welcome back to remember. The immaculately dressed Gary, together with Mark and Ian, has been joined by Simon Kitchener who emanates lashings of rockabilly cool on bass tonight.
The band may be forty years older, but they’ve lost none of their swagger as they launch into the double headed assault of ‘Punishment & Crime’ and the rockabilly stomp of ‘Weekend Revolution’. The guitars are fast and furious whilst Gary’s vocals show no sign that they have diminished over the years – although the decadent snarl of the past may have been replaced with a wry smile of appreciation.
It’s a fantastic start and we are soon treated to cracking renditions of ‘Fall in Love with You’ and ‘Everybody Knows’. ‘Dreams That Kill’ is one of the standout tracks of the night, reminding me a little of Lords of the New Church in places. ‘Johnny 7’ may have failed to chart, but it’s still an outstanding tune with its catchy chorus guaranteed to give you an earworm.
The reflective ‘One Man Town’ has memorable riffs aplenty before ‘I Love to Rock and Roll’ moves into more anthemic territory. ‘Tower Block Rock’ remains one of my favourite songs from the eighties, and finally hearing it live ticked off another song on my musical bucket list. From the opening drum rolls and the slow guitar build up, through Gary’s initial yelp of “Tower Block Rock”, to the chorus of “We are the Rockers”, it remains a thrilling slice of rock‘n’roll that has lost none of its potency in the intervening years.
‘Out of Control’ is the sound of a motorbike engine with its constant momentum dragging you screaming to its conclusion. It’s probably the closest the band ever got to aping Mark’s previous bandmate, Billy Idol. ‘Guns for Sale’ and the frantic energy of ‘Young Man’ bring the main set to a fitting close.
This being the 100 Club, a quick run through the crowd to the tiny green room is a fruitless task, so the band stay on the stage and go back to their rock’n’roll roots for the encore. The song that gave the band their name, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, is first up and is a slice of pure rockabilly bliss. A name that won’t get mentioned much (well until now) on these pages is Cliff Richard, but back in his heyday, the British Elvis made a number of bona fide rock‘n’roll classics, including ‘Move It’. Here the band play a faithful version of the song, reminding us why Cliff was so important to the emerging British music scene, long before he was sucked into the abyss of sentimental middle of the road sludge.
Finishing with a boisterous rendition of T-Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’, the band leave the stage promising us that they’ll be back. Tonight truly was a glorious celebration of rock‘n’roll that echoed the glorious days of the numerous icons whose photos adorn the walls of this legendary venue.
Was it worth waiting forty years for? Too damn right it was – but please don’t leave it so long next time…!
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: IAN LADLOW
Videos: BEHIND THE AMP & ANDY LUCKETT
- Punishment & Crime
- Weekend Revolution
- Fall in Love with You
- Real Rain
- Everybody Knows
- Dreams That Kill
- Johnny 7
- One Man Town
- I Love to Rock and Roll
- Tower Block Rock
- Out of Control
- Guns for Sale
- Young Man
- Twenty Flight Rock
- Move It
- 20th Century Boy
Follow Twenty Flight Rockers on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Lol Tolhurst plays intimate warm-up show bringing the songs of The Cure to Brighton’s seafront
Wednesday 28th October was Lol Tolhurst – a founding member of The Cure’s – warm-up show before the band’s sold-out performance at Whitby’s legendary Tomorrow’s
EP review: BLDSUGR! – ‘The Fields’
Released just in time for Halloween, ‘The Fields’ finds Birmingham trio BLDSUGR! doing their best to make October considerably less comfortable. The band call their
Transvision Vamp, London Shepherds Bush Empire, 22nd Oct 2026
Of all the reunions to have taken place of late, Transvision Vamp’s was surely among the most unexpected. It’s been a whopping 34 years since
Desperate Measures, London Hope & Anchor, 24th Oct 2026
Happy 45th birthday, Desperate Measures! The London-via-New-Zealand punks may have emerged in more innocent times, but the songs have aged well, and remain – sometimes
Cancer Bats/Ignite, London Dingwalls, 31st Oct 2026
Kudos is seriously due to all three bands performing tonight – not just for playing great sets, but for having covered pretty much the entire
Shake Some Acton Halloween Party, London Signature Brew Haggerston, 30th Oct 2026
You can always trust Shake Some Acton to throw a great party, and indeed, Mannie has pulled a frightfully good line-up out of the bag
My first gig was The Damned at Hull City Hall a few days after my 16th birthday way back in the mid-eighties. 800 gigs and 1,700 bands later, my love of live music remains undiminished – the thrill of discovering a new band is still one of life’s greatest experiences. My musical tastes cover a wide spectrum, but punk and goth still dominate my listening habits.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
