Birkenhead Punk Festival

The second Birkenhead Punk Festival this summer is a welcome addition to the punk rock calendar. With a great bill including Ruts DC, Girlschool, GBH and many others.  It’s the latest promotion by punk rock legend Hocky. Liverpool punk legend, Richie Rocker, spoke to the man behind the festival and his own band, Bite Back.

Tickets for the festival can be found here. 

Anyone with even a passing interest in the Merseyside punk scene over the last forty plus years will be familiar with Steve ‘Hocky’ Hockenhull, frontman of legendary Wirral band Instant Agony, and more recently Bite Back, a band whose new album, Dance Of Death, has just been released to great acclaim.  In the last few years, as well as continuing to front both bands, Hocky has been promoting gigs at The Swinging Arm in Birkenhead. These gigs have become so successful that last summer, Hocky, in conjunction with the venue, decided to promote the first-ever Birkenhead punk festival featuring bands such as The Outcasts and One Way System.  The festival was so successful that it was announced that this year’s festival will be a two-day event over the weekend of 4^th-5^th July.  Tickets are reportedly selling very well for this, and it’s recommended you get in quick.  Bands already announced are GBH, Girlschool and Ruts DC.  LTW sat down with Hocky for a chat about his past and his present, beginning with asking him about his promoting activities.

LTW:  Tell me a bit about Birkenhead Underground Sound.  How did it start and what was the idea behind it?

Hocky:  It just began as a regular Sunday gig at The Swinging Arm. As it took off, I suggested other bands to the boss, and now it’s become a regular thing on the first Sunday of every month.  I never really considered myself a promoter – it was just a case of putting on like minded bands, and they return the favour by offering Bite Back a gig.  It’s gone from strength to strength and we now have more well know bands asking to play.  I have a good team around me: Wagga, who is the DJ there, also designs the posters and I have a good relationship with the manager, Adam.

You must be proud of how well the festival was received.  Why do you think that was?

It was successful because we had a good choice of bands, and we also kept the door costs down, which brought in a good crowd, who very much played their part.  There were certain bands we wanted for this year who couldn’t do it due to touring commitments etc, so we’re looking at them for next year.  This year’s festival is over two venues – Molly’s Chambers and The Northern Powerhouse – which are next door to each other.

How did you get into music in the first place?  What were you listening to before punk?

My mum and dad were always playing music, the Beatles and other guitar bands etc.  I also had an older brother who was into prog rock, so I was listening to that too.  Then there was the glam scene in the early ’70s.  My first gig was 10CC at the Liverpool Empire, Chas and Dave were the support act.

How did you get into punk?  Who were your favourite bands?

My older brother got into it, he would play the first albums by The Damned and The Clash.  Another song I remember was Hey Lord Don’t Ask Me Questions by Graham Parker.  Then I started listening to John Peel.  The Damned became a big influence early on.

You’ve fronted many bands down the years, what made you want to be a singer?

My first band was Venomous Youth. I used to jump up and sing with them during their rehearsals. I was just friends with them at this point but when their singer left, they asked me to join.  I never actually set out to be a singer.  My first gig with them was in Birkenhead on 22nd December 1980.  On the same night, The Professionals played Brady’s in Liverpool.

Instant Agony achieved a fair bit of success first time around, decent record sales, signing with a known label (Flick Knife).  Did it frustrate you that the band couldn’t take that forward?  And why do you think that was?

It did frustrate me.  We were evolving so quickly on a musical level and the sound was changing really fast.  In my opinion, we should never have signed with Flick Knife, we should have stayed with John at Half Man Half Biscuit and put an album out with him.  We only did about ten gigs at the time, we weren’t sure how to go about it ourselves. So yeah, I do feel we missed out.

Birkenhead has always been in Liverpool’s shadow when it comes to music.  Do you feel with what you’re doing at The Swinging Arm Birkenhead is now getting the respect it deserves?

Definitely.  A lot of bands are playing here now, especially punk bands. We used to have to go over to Liverpool, but now we have our own established scene.  Also, Birkenhead is very accessible from Liverpool.  It’s only ten minutes by train.

You must be very pleased with the reaction to the new Bite Back album.

Very happy, we worked so hard on it and it took five or six years to complete.  We began writing it before COVID.  It was recorded at Pressure Drop Studios in Stockport owned by Anthony from One Man Stand.  We were gigging on a regular basis, so we were tight and ready to record.  They are basic songs, but we feel the recording really captures our live sound.

You’ve been involved with a lot of projects down the years. What are you most proud of?

Without doubt, the new Bite Back album. It’s the first album I’ve done on vinyl.  I’ve always wanted to hold my own twelve-inch!  I’m proud of many things I’ve done, but the current one is always the best.

You’re a staunch Tranmere fan, what are your thoughts on the club at present?

I think the club’s in such a mess I can’t see it surviving in five years’ time. The club is lucky to have such a loyal fan base.   It’s all about money now; it dictates football.  Vive Le Underdog!

What do you think of the current punk scene in the UK?  Are you surprised one still exists.

I’m not surprised it still exists. It was always there, but the Pistols coming back in ’96, and also the work Darren and Jennie do at Rebellion, has definitely made it stronger.  Sadly, it’s also brought back many of the people who dropped out for 30 years, and who now pretend they were there all along. Punk has always been a valid form of music and counter culture.  Sadly, it’s even more relevant now!

Massive thanks to Hocky for braving Wetherspoons on a Friday night and sitting down with me for this interview.  If you can get to one of the Swinging Arm gigs, I would urge you to do so.  There is some great work going on there.  And some great new music to hear.

Tickets for the festival can be found here.

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Interviewed by Richie Rocker