On 19th November 2011a little piece of musical history took place.
For those of us of a certain age, despite what Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip claimed, a few years ago, Crass were far more than “just a band”.
A disparate group of nine musicians and artists residing in a shared house in rural Essex promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action, animal rights and environmentalism. The band used and advocated a DIY punk ethic approach to its sound collages, leaflets, albums and films. And, yeah, they made some pretty bloody good records as well!
In November 2007 lead singer Steve Ignorant, who is also a sculptor and who has worked as a traditional Punch and Judy Professor, performed the entire Feeding of the 5000 album live at the Shepherds Bush Empire to great acclaim. Three years later he announced plans for a world tour called "The Last Supper", performing Crass songs from the period 1977-1982 with largely the same band that performed with him at Shepherd's Bush, including Gizz Butt, Bob Butler and Spike Smith.
With the extraordinary Carol Hodge performing songs originally sung by Eve Libertine and Joy DeVivre, he performed the last show of the tour again at the Shepherds Bush Empire. The band were joined by ex-Crass members Penny Rimbauld and Eve Libertine and Steve said: "And then Penny came on...and we did it, 'Do They Owe Us A Living' as we'd first done it all those years ago. As it started, so it finished".
Steve pledged that this would be the last time that these songs would be performed by him, and across the globe a disparate collection of middle aged men and women who had been politicised by Crass all those years before, and whose lives had taken a completely different path because of him, shed more than a few tears. It was undoubtedly the end of an era, but now, those of you who weren’t able to be at the concert can share in the experience for yourselves.
Anarchy, Peace and Freedom,
Jon Downes, North Devon, July 2014
