Tim V’s Sham 69 - It’s Not A Sham!
Sham 69 is one of the longest-running punk bands, formed in 1975 in England. As with many bands that came up at that time and location, they saw The Sex Pistols play live, and it changed everything. Fast forward to today, and after many line-up changes, break-ups, and dormant periods, they brought their “Let Loose the Dogs of War” tour to Smalls Bar in Hamtramck, Michigan. This was Tim V’s version of Sham 69, with Tim V on vocals. Tim was their official singer from 2007 – 2011, with Dave Parsons and Ian Whitewood in the band. And this was my chance to hear some of their classics live, most importantly “If the Kids Are United.”.
Detroit 442 was up first, so we got there early. Lacy Sterling, the singer for Detroit 442, has been part of the local Detroit punk scene for decades. I used to see his early bands, Son of Sam and Hillside Stranglers, frequently at Blondies on 7 Mile. Their new stuff is better than ever and they threw in a few covers including The Damned’s “Neat/Neat/Neat” and The Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer.” I was able to capture one of their new songs (released in April of 2024) “40,000 Dead”, and snag a couple of their CDs.
Before the show, I had struck up a conversation with the drummer from No Consent, over my RKL shirt. When they started out their set, they called me out and said I was going to really like their band, even though I didn’t know it yet. That was due to their excellent selection of cover songs (mixed in with their originals) that included “Pub Feed” by The Chats, “I Hate My Life” by Youth Brigade, and of course “Think Positive” by RKL. This was a really good, fast, solid punk band, and I picked up their new CD, “Bastard Nation,” on the way out.
No Consent - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Sham 69 brought a decent amount of banter between songs, and came through on a promise to harass everyone in the front row. They mentioned donating some of the proceeds from every show to fight child abuse, and their love for animals (especially dogs), and there was even a “Hawk Tuah” mention. They have released new music as recently as 2021 (“Black Dog”), but this show was packed with the classics, including their hits “Hurry Up Harry” and “If The Kids Are United.” Check out the video link below.
Sham 69 - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Sets lists from all three bands (Detroit 442, No Consent, Sham 69) - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
