Picture the scene. November 1989 - i'm a young 17 year old kid with matted / dreadlocked / messy hair down to the middle of my back.. I was doing a numpty business course at Bath College. The Weather is bitterly cold.. I'm walking round Bath with a "Matsui (dixon's own brand of equipment) Tape Walkman". The tape i'm playing is BAD BRAINS - QUICKNESS. I have no other tapes in my bag.. Just the one. Its not like nowadays where i walk round with 100's of albums compressed onto my ipod.. I simply have the one tape - on repeat.
I finish whatever lesson i was attending and get the train back home to Bristol. I'm beyond excited as I'm going to the Bristol Bierkeller to see NYC Hardcore legends BAD BRAINS for the first time.
I meet up with two of my best friends, and fellow band mates (The Inept) - Tony "Gussy" Garland & Rich "Whacker" Donson. We do the pre-gig ritual and go to Burger King where we eat the only vegetarian option the BK Spicy Bean Burger, then go to Mad Harry's Arcade to the right of the Bierkeller to play on some games and waste money gambling on the shit fruit machines. We que up at outside the venue and its going right round the corner and up the hill to Castle Green. These were the fucking days - no question. The Hardcore scene in Bristol was amazing ; In one week you could see at least 3 American bands.
The atmosphere is building and the sense of anticipation is growing. Its getting later and colder - the doors still haven't opened. It gets to 10pm and still no sign of getting into venue and warmth.. People are wondering whats happening, Are the band even here yet ? Is the show still happening? Around 10.30 the doors finally happen and we all pile in through the door's to that familiar smell of stale cider, beer and cigarettes. I love it.
I rush straight to the merch stand and hand over my £7 or £8 on a bright yellow Bad Brains Quickness Tour shirt. I was a skinny teenager but the rule still was you had to have XL shirts.. don't ask me why coz i don't know to this day.
So it gets to 11 and there is NO support band.. Back then you could at least expect 3 support bands , especially at a Hardcore show. All the bands gear was on stage and the reggae was pumping out over the p.a system.. People smoking weed everywhere.. Security couldn't give two shits.
11.30 comes and the lights go down. For the next hour what can only be described as sheer brutal aggression, both visually and musically from 4 Rastafarian's is lapped up by the 700 odd punks / metaller's / hc kids.
HR the Bad Brains charismatic frontman is struggling by the end of the set and doesn't appear for the encore.. I notice a St Johns Ambulance guy going through the crowd and backstage.. My first thoughts are that someone has injured themselves stagediving.
After the show (at least 1.30am now) we go outside to get a ride home and see an Ambulance with the lights flashing.. There's rumors going round that HR (frontman) has been taken seriously ill and has to go to hospital.
Fast forward a few days, im in Clifton in Bristol at "Gargeland Records".. The best Record shop EVER open in Bristol. Run by one guy "Graeme Garageland" - a total Hardcore / Punk enthusiast.. I would somedays go into his shop at midday with 10 Silk Cut snouts and leave at 5pm with no fags, no money BUT a bag full of vinyl and a head full of tales about bands, gigs and events before my time. I loved it so much... I would listen and soak up everything i was told..
Anyway we get talking about the Bad Brains gig and how amazing it was. I ask him about the Ambulance and say how come HR never sang the encore? Graeme's face drops and looks at me .. he says "have you not heard what happened"? I shake my head and get ready for the impending story.....
Apparently in NYC the Bad Brains hung out with a lot of the homeless guys to help them out a bit. HR was with a crew of homeless dudes from a shelter - and a van pulls up to help the down-n-outs with some food. I believe its called a "Soup Kitchen" in the U.S
So anyway HR is hanging with these guys and helps the "charitable" guy who's brought the soup over to his friends.. HR apparently has some of this soup as well...
The next day HR is really fucking sick and has to go to hospital where a lot of these guys from the shelter are also. The police are littered around the hospital asking everyone questions..
NOW... this may be a complete URBAN MYTH but the story goes that the guy that made and brought the soup - had killed is wife , chopped her up and put her in the Soup and served it up to everyone.. The next day Bad Brains had to fly to Europe and HR still hadnt made a full recovery despite having his stomach pumped.. As a result he was still sick at the show in Bristol and thats why the doors didn't open til late and he didn't play the encore..
Ironically for HR and the Bad Brains, what must have been one of their worst gigs ; For me and 699 odd others in Bristol that night it was life changing.. I would say in my top 3 gigs of all time..
