"New Wave Night" at Zhivagos was probably a riotous event. Joining The Abusers was
The Jolt (Glasgow's first punk band) and The Cuban Heels. The Heels
consisted of Laurie Cuffe (guitar/vocals), Paul Armour (bass) and
Davy Duncan (drums). John Milarky would later
join The Cuban Heels after the break-up of The Abusers.
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Doune Castle, Glasgow, UK
11th April, 1977
The band's first gig at a city lounge-bar. They were booked under the
name of Argon - just so they could get the gig. It turned out to be
a "near riot".
They were also booked the next week, but scuppered their changes by calling the manager
a "stupid little greek bastard" after he turned the power off during their encore.
Saints And Sinners, Glasgow, UK
April, 1977
Their second gig was a riot like the first. The venue leant its name to one of their first
songs Saints And Sinners, and was the title of their
single. The venue was later renamed King Tuts and Simple Minds
returned for an 'Intimate Gig' in 2005.
Hotel, East Linton, East Lothian, UK
April-May, 1977
Supporting: Generation X
Two weeks after their first gig, they support Generation X. The gig was supposed to take place in
Edinburgh but was moved out of the city due to fears of crowd trouble. No-one likes them, so they start to rehearse.
Zhivago's, Glasgow, UK
21st July 1977
They make one appearance at Zhivago's. It's the second time the venue
have a punk night - it's also the last.
Crown Hotel, Wishaw, UK
April-October 1977
Documented - but no other details known.
Terminal One, UK
April-October 1977
Only a lone picture exists of Jim
and Charlie (below).
Dourne Castle, Glasgow, UK
August 1977
Main Set:
White Light-White Heat /
No Fun /
Beat On The Brat /
Pogo Dancing /
Saints And Sinners /
Toss Yourself Off /
Sweet Jane /
Vicious /
New Rose /
Satisfaction /
Waiting For The Man
"It's a Tuesday night in the downstairs bar of the Dourne Castle pub in Glasgow. There's still thirty minutes
before Johnny And The Self Abusers take to the stage and every seat is already taken. I've
never seen this bar so full - not even on a Saturday night and there's almost certainly going to be trouble, judging from the
bouncers. Anyway enough of this shit and onto the band.
White Light-White Heat (The Velvet Underground) and No Fun (Sex Pistols) are the first
two songs and to be honest I'm put off by the lead singer's "cool" black leather image and no movement. The band have a vocalist
(Jim Kerr),
drummer (Brian McGee),
bassist (Tony Donald),
three guitarists (count 'em - Charlie Burchill,
John Milarky,
Alan McNeil) - one of whom doubles as a second lead singer. It's when the other singer
takes the mike for Beat On The Brat (The Ramones) that the band starts to take off. The 'cool' image is
finally broken when the vocalist leaps onto a table during a great version of Pogo Dancing. This band are really powerful and
tight with it.
Although they play a lot of other peoples' songs, two of their own -
Saints And Sinners and
Toss Yourself Off are the best of the night. The group build up during a tight
Sweet Jane (The Velvet Underground) and finally explode into the final section belting out
Vicious/ (Lou Reed),
New Rose (The Damned),
Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones) (better than the Stooges or Hot Rods).
There's trouble brewing as the bouncers try to keep some of the punters in their seats but the
Self Abusers don't stop and belt into their closing number, Waiting For The Man (The Velvet Underground).
Halfway through, someone hits a bouncer or vise versa and the police alarm bell goes off. A table overturns and there's glasses everywhere.
The manager steps up and the band are forced to quit. A good gig - despite all this.
The group are worth taking note of and should be better once they include more of their own songs. Record company scouts take note.
"
Iain McNeil
Pretty Vacant Fanzine, 26/08/77
Maniqui, Falkirk, UK
17th August 1977
Supporting: The Rezillos
"However [they] came on about 12.30 am to a very small, unenthusiastic audience. This band I feel, are
potentially on a par with The Jolt, The Rezillos and
The Valves, and with a little streamiling, (and more rehearsals with the Vinylettes) their reputation will
just grow and grow." - Cripes #9
Art College Club, Glasgow, UK
26th October 1977
Main Set:
White Light-White Heat...
Saints And Sinners...
18-18...
Pablo Picasso
"The Abusers took to the stage at 12.30, if indeed two orange boxes can be called a stage. The
set opened with a cracking version of White Light/White Heat,
the audience of wilted flower children and drunk straights didn't appear to enjoy it. The Abusers
have some new songs in their set - I didn't catch their names - but the old favourites like
Saints And Sinners and
18-18 were still there. Surprisingly they didn't do
Dead Vandals. The number which seemed most apt for the place and which got the best reaction was
Pablo Picasso - "the girls think you're a fucking asshole."
The band never really got into the set, probably due to the actions of bigots at the front who threw beer cans at the band and were brave enough
to spit at Scott, the band's manager, when his back was turned.
The Abusers are shaping up to be the classiest band in Scotland, having all the style of early
Roxy Music and the power of The Clash. The only problem is that they are a band for '78 not '77. Still the acid test
is the gigs they do in London at the end of November. I skipped out of The Adverts' gig to see the
Self Abusers and I'm not disappointed. So now it's up to you. See them soon. "
Peter Campbell
Hanging Around Fanzine, 7/11/77
www.punk77.co.uk
Glasgow Art School, Glasgow, UK
November 1977
The final gig of this line up, they were billed as Simple Minds.
London, UK
Late November 1977
After the release of single, the band were booked to play
several dates in London. These were cancelled after the band split.
see also:
www.punk77.co.uk
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