Menace 100 Club 2.10.26 – Original line -up – Review

The remaining members of Menace, Noel Martin, Steve Tannett and Charlie Casey, have a friendship spanning over 50 years. It all started at school, went through progressive rock and pub rock, and ended up at punk, picking up the enigmatic but already deeply troubled Canadian frontman Morgan Webster along the way.

Just what if Miles Copeland hadn’t walked through the door of the Roxy Club mid 1977 and offered them a deal to record two singles after another band he had lined up dropped out? That chance meeting kicked off the band and 50 years of punk, and all the opportunities that followed. Guitarist Steve Tannett threw in his lot with Copeland and is still enjoying great success in the music industry; Charlie has played in and out of Menace, and Noel has been the keeper of the flame.

Their short time together, from 1976 to the end of 1978, gave us four classic punk singles with some classic shouty choruses, and along with the UK Subs, were loved by fans in London, where they principally played. They’ve always been a down-to-earth, approachable band with no airs or graces.

So a sold-out 100 Club on 2nd October 2026 was the venue for a special gig, with the remaining members of Menace getting together one last time to belt out their classics. No Morgan, sadly, as he died of a drug-related death many years ago. No more internecine violence between various youth cults in the audience or the band being attacked or knocked out with heavy glass beer glasses! Thank God some things have changed for the better!

Getting there early, I was treated to a soundcheck of some of the classics. Here’s one captured by Riff of The Dark (and the legendary Rottin’ Klitz). Not sure I can handle a topless Noel though 🙂

I was honoured to be invited to do a Q&A with the band, seated on stage. I figured Morgan should be there, so I had a life-size cut-out made of him, and he sat in on the interview and stayed on stage for the set. Someone in the audience quipped that they’d like chairs too, and to be fair, none of us are getting any younger! 😊

A shout-out to the support acts too, 16 Guns and especially the Witchdoktors. Very catchy stuff. I painted a room on Sunday listening to their songs. “Every day is just a holiday” – indeed!

But onto Menace. A Menace gig in London is pretty much a party. It’s the same folk who all know each other and follow the band, and the band is so down to earth. Unusually kicking off with GLC, they go through all the classics: Electrocutioner, Screwed Up, Carry No Banners, I’m Civilised, Last Year’s Youth, Punk Rocker, Live For Today and Insane Society, and of course GLC again, complete with audience invasion. I had to get up and join Noel and half the 100 Club – It would have been rude not to!

Hot, sweaty, and great fun! Morgan would have loved it, and probably would have been in the audience causing mayhem.

They thought that they had us down?
But they couldn’t keep us down for long
Time stands still for no one, we’re gonna make it
Right or wrong

So let the die hards die hard & let the fads fade away
Don’t you know tomorrow never comes, & I don’t wanna know about yesterday!
Live for, live for today!

GLC – video – Simon Edwards

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