IT was time for a little bit of good old-fashioned nostalgia and some shameless wallowing in the halcyon days of the birth of punk.

The biggest name of the time was The Sex Pistols and, whilst they are still doing the rounds, they do cost a bob or two and to be honest, they have become something of a parody of their former selves.

So the sensible alternative is to go for a tribute band and The Pistols from London are a very fine example of the genre.

A tribute band differs from a 'covers' band in so far as they do not simply play songs made famous by other groups, but they actively try to mimic one particular group in appearance, attitude and performance.

'Sid Vicious'

Basingstoke Gazette:

These guys were very good at it, with the front line looking pretty authentic and even more so throwing out verbal abuse and trading banter with the crowd.

Performance-wise, they nailed it. Luckily the original Sex Pistols had a wide range of good original songs, plus a lot of classic, catchy covers too.

The sound quality was excellent and I checked out a number of different spots in the venue and they were all good. There was a good size crowd there but unlike back in the day, people preferred to sit and watch rather than stand up the front and jostle each other.

Still, it meant that everyone had a good view and no drinks got split!

It was a very enjoyable evening and I gather that the venue does put on a show like this at least once a month.

As members get into the show for free, considering the annual subscription to the club, it is a very good deal indeed.

So a victory 'V' for the band and thanks to the promoter, management and staff of the Academy for an enjoyable Saturday night out.

Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE