May 15, 2002

UPFRONT
ROYALTY RAGE

When our Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee in June 1977, a band of young men marked the occasion by singing God  Save the Queen on the river Thames. Police soon boarded  their boat, however â€" the aptly named Queen Elizabeth â€" and, in the  ensuing scuffle, the novice musicians were arrested. It was one of punk's seminal moments.

The men were Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones and Paul Cook, known collectively as the Sex Pistols. Their God Save the Queen (banned at the time by  radio stations and most record shops) said nothing about Her Majesty being  victorious and glorious and long to reign over us. Instead, the punk anthem  sneered that there was "no future, no future, no future for you".

Some might argue it was actually punk that had no future:  the Sex Pistols were finished a  year later. The monarchy, meanwhile, marches on. This June 4, the Queen celebrates her Golden Jubilee â€" 50 long years on the  throne â€" with the royal family back in favour thanks to the solemn splendour of  the Queen Mother's funeral.

The punks aren't giving up without a fight, however. Nick  Nasty, 40, of Nottingham in central England, is behind Out-Rage, a mildly  subversive event encouraging musicians from around the world to play the Sex  Pistols' God Save the Queen at a location, and in a  musical style, of their choice â€" just so long  as they do it on June 4. "On January 1 this year I thought, 'It's Jubilee year;  I might play God Save the Queen somewhere unusual'," explains Nasty, formerly of punk band the  Executors. "Then I thought, 'Why limit it to one place in one country'. I shared  the idea and it quickly grew into Out-Rage."

Some 100 bands are now involved, and the list is growing daily. From Mr Ed, who will play on a barge on the river Thames, to Kill Whitey,  performing in front of city hall in Pinole, California. Meanwhile, a band by the name of Dark Bob will bring some British anarchy to a cowfield in  Tennessee.

In Australia, punk lads Eclypto will play Adelaide and Melbourne's Triple-R is organising a  tie-in jubilee concert. The official Out-Rage Australia event, organised by Alistair McLean, will also take place in  Melbourne. "I'm doing Out-Rage because the monarchy is an outdated, Jurassic idea," says McLean. Outdated and Jurassic. Isn't that what they said about the  Sex Pistols reunion tour of 1996?

 

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