PUNK IS REAL ISRAEL IS PUNKED ?

‪Ha how weird this weekend outside what was once The Trident - the place where SLF debuted a song called Alternative Ulster for me to put on my fanzine as a flexi disc, 40 years ago - they are putting up a plaque to the memory of poonk rock.

Back then, playing to the 16 year old Fanzine Editor Des Troy aka Gavin Martinet, SLF failed the audition as I had many reservations about them and thought I might use the title again myself sometime.

As indeed I have - this very week as I’ve taken the title back - for a track on upcoming album with me top ranking part namesake, brother from another mother and musical collaborator Martin Bell. The New Alternative Ulster are you ready for a place with no security force, Arlene's RHI or Gerry's Paedo Protection recourse? If not now...when?

Arranger, Producer, Composer, Film Maker Extraordinaire Martin Bell in younger days l - before he met me (puts years on you, that does)

Not sure what it says on the plaque going up outside what is now called Wolseleys though it says a lot about Norn Ireland - and the absolute state of these islands - that these days you can get a plaque up for poonk rock but a plaque that for a long timre marked the Belfast birthplace of a Jewish president of Israel 🇮🇱 has had to be removed because of repeated acts of orchestrated vandalism.

Sounds like as far from the progressive society the original AU envisaged as can be, to me.

But Johnny Rotten is in town this weekend too and he's played in Israel, to much criticism which he answered to me thusly..

“The presumption was I was supporting the Israeli government. I think my record speaks well enough to say I’ve never supported ANY governments. SO when I play, I play for the people. One of the songs we picked to play at the gig in Tel Aviv , where, incindentally, the audience was a mixture of Arab and Jew, I gotta tell you that because Israel was still not at war with Yemen at the time, was a song called 4 Enclosed Walls and in it is the beautiful refrain, of course it refers to the Crusades (sings) Aaaa Laalaha Allah - if you can get 6,000 Jews singing with 4,000 Arabs Allah - and there not be a blood bath? Well, then you’ve done something very very good for World Peace.

Staying at home and waving a silly little student’s Union flag is not doing fuck all. Get out there in this world an put your head on the frontline, stand up for what really matters.

Protestors Outside Pil Gig in Bristol Academy 2010. Sorry guys n gals - they're all spoken for :-)

What really matters to me is the people, alright? And Jews and Arabs, whether the Socialists realise this or not, are people too. And they are MY people, and I love them and I will play to them. As far as I know I never played in any house of parliament, not ever, anywhere."

Thank you Mr Rotten.