:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Victoria park Anti Nazi gig 78

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With the Bradford punks all being from different ethnic backgrounds Muslim ,Eastern European ,Black Indian etc all the punks wanted to go to this Anti Nazi gig.plus there was the added bonus of watching some good bands as well.

The Clash ,X-ray Spex etc

We had already had a few run in's with local NF ,but we were quite a solid bunch & we would all stick up for each other .More alarmingly we had this  ongoing run in with some Nazi punks from Leeds called "the Dentists "

There had  been a couple of fights at the F Club in Leeds & later that year there would be a really bad fight at the Buzzcocks/Penetration gig at Georges Hall when someone got stabbed..

Some one in the ANL who drank in the Mannville organised the trip to Victoria Park.

We took 9 coaches from Bradford which set off from out side the collage on Great Horton Rd.We had our own special coach which was just full of punks , local eccentrics & Blockheads[a little group of pissheads who resided at Blockhead Towers on Merton Rd .Ala Keith Haste ,Kendal etc  [rip]] who drank in the Mannville.

We all went out on our usual night out but a few of us [about 20?] decided to stay out so we wouldn't miss the coach which left at 5 am.

Now in those days the pubs shut at 10.30 & there were no clubs open as late as these days ,probably  2 at the very latest.

So after  our usual haunt s at that time were shut [probably the Queens Hall or Communal Building as they were the only places we could usually get in]

We looked for somewhere else to go?

Someone told us there was a late night drinking club next to the Army recruitment office [a club that years later would be come ours "Beavers" ] I can't remember what it was called back then,but we went along & surprisingly they  let us in.

It was like a blues playing reggae & soul.

In attendance  with some of Bradford's dodgiest clientele.

We all sat at one side of the room having a chat & getting drunk.

We were a bit weary of the people around us because we were used to getting some sort of reaction when we went off our turf, but everyone seemed sound with us.

Anyway at some stage of the evening  some one said that someone had spat at them

So we all looked round & no one was paying any attention to us .this kept going on for a while & after a few more drinks we started getting a bit pissed annoyed  & brave with it .

We were sure someone was spitting at us. at some point one of us [can't remember who now/]jumped up & said "who's spitting at us"?

Everyone starred at us the management came over to see what was up.we told them we thought some one was spitting at us .the argument went on for a while eventually the music stopped & the other people started getting annoyed & were on the verge of getting involved as well. Then someone said "I have been spat on again" but everyone was looking at us & no one mad any spitting  gesture .all of a sudden someone looked up & realised there was a bloody big hole in the roof & it was rain drops that had been landing on people .lol

Everything then calmed down & we were all laughing along with the other s the music started again & everyone was happy.

After the club finished it was around 3  we had no  where to go suddenly someone said that one of the local eccentrics said we could stop at his bed sit in Mannville Terrace which was by the collage .So we all went up there .we all got to the bed sit & woke him up[can't remember his name ?]

He was shocked to see about 30 punks in his garden. He asked what we wanted & who ever he told? said you said we could stop at your .He said not this amount ,it's only a bed sit. anyway he let us in & we all just to find wherever ever we could to sleep.

About 10 got in the bed ,people tried to sleep standing up in the wardrobe .the floor was full .someone even tried getting inside his Chester draws lol

Luckily there was only about 2 hours till the coach so people did the best they could to sleep. Obviously no one did lol

At 4.30 we all got up & went onto the end of the street to get the coach.

As soon as we got all the beer on that we had left in the Mannville  we set  off & everyone fell asleep.

When I awoke we were on the outskirts of London.

When we all got off at Trafalgar square we were told everyone was marching to Victoria Park.We realised we would miss the Xray Spex if we marched & they were the only band I was really interested in seeing ,So a few of of us decided to go by tube.We marched down the Strand towards the East End every 100 yards or so everyone gave out a loud shout.We thought the NF were coming.This happened all the way ,then we spotted a tube station so we legged it on to tube.

It took us a while to get there as none of us had been to East London before. When we did we got there just as the x-ray spex were coming on They were great. After they finished we went & looked around for the others. It took us a while but we found them near the perimeter of the park near the toilets. We went to the pub for a pint or 2

Then we made our way back towards the park. To see The Clash.As we approached the park we noticed a few gangs of skinheads.They were just walking round the perimeter of the park shouting "skinheads!"

There were the occasional zieg hails! The some skinheads started a little skirmish

Being  the multi cultural bunch that we were  jumped into help out eventually backing the skinheads off. The crowd inside the park was massive around 100.000 I heard?

We watched Tom Robinson & Steel pulse then the Clash came onto a huge roar from the crowd .I didn't really like the Clash so was more interested in getting back to Trafalgar Square for the coach., but quite a lot of our lot liked the Clash .They didn't appear to be as good as when I saw them at Leeds Poly in 77  I remember Jimmy Pursey bouncing on stage & singing a song with them .When the Clash finished we all met back at the toilets & made a hasty retreat back to Trafalgar Square for the coach

We just managed to get there in time .A few people did get lost though but the driver wouldn't wait so we sat back & fell asleep again. After about an hour I woke up & remembered the beer we had stashed .so we cracked open the beers .By the time we got back home we were all pissed.we pulled up outside the Mannville for a night cap

There's a pic of the Bradford punks in my pics in Trafalgar Squre