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(2011) The Palace and the Punks by Tony Hill |
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THIS BOOK WILL BE REVIEWED BY T&M SHORTLY Our 25/5/2011 news story for this book appeared as below: The Palace and the PunksNew book published with huge U.K. Subs content!
Northern Lights Lit has just published a book called ‘The Palace and the Punks’ by Tony Hill. 
It is Tony’s second book and deals with the history, as well as the rise and fall of the ‘Grey Topper’ music venue in Jacksdale, a pit village in Nottinghamshire.
The main section focuses on the late 1970s punk and new wave scene, including quotes and memories from Charlie, Nicky Garratt and Pete Davies, along with a host of others involved in that scene, such as Roddy Radiation, Jet Black (Stranglers) and Eddie (Vibrators).
Time & Matter website contacted Tony, and he had this to say about ‘The Palace and the Punks’:
“The UK Subs played two memorable gigs at the Grey Topper in 1979 on the ‘Stranglehold’ then ‘Another Kind Of Blues’ Tours.
Whilst writing the book I thought it would be a good idea to try and put on a ‘Grey Topper Punks Reunited’ concert. U.K. Subs were my first choice, so I made contact with Charlie who loved the idea of what I was doing and squeezed my gig into their busy touring schedule. Charlie is a great guy, and it was fantastic to sit and chat to him after the gig. It was a nightmare trying to get it on though, everyone – police, councils, and a residents association - all tried to stop it going ahead. 
The reason for this was twofold, The Grey Topper was known for outbreaks of violence and they didn’t want the spirit of that resurrecting, secondly, with it being the Subs playing, locals recalled that they did another gig a few miles away in the 1980s at a rock pub called the Black Horse, which ended in a full-scale riot after BNP skinheads came down, intent on causing trouble (and got pasted by the Topper punks!)
I managed to pull the 2007 Grey Topper reunion gig off with just weeks to spare though, and proved all the doubters wrong. It was a wonderful night, great atmosphere and all the money raised was for Cancer Research UK. The last chapter in the book called ‘I Predict A Riot’ deals with that 2007 Subs gig."
There is a review of that gig on the Punk and Oi website.
Priced at £9-95 plus postage & packing, this is an absolutely essential purchase for any true fan of the U.K. Subs.
Read the back cover synopsis here
REQUEST FROM THE AUTHOR: "There was a guy who was at the 2007 gig who filmed it all. He was stood on the side of the stage, then at the front, but I’ve never found out who he was. Would love to track him down and get my hands on a copy..." CAN YOU HELP?
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What should be on your UK Subs Bookshelf? CLICK HERE 
