JOHNNY THROTTLE: London Punk 'Spazztastics' Headline Dirty Water Records Showcase | Le Beat Bespoke Festival

JOHNNY THROTTLE were formed in London a decade ago by various lowlife has beens and never were's from The Parkinsons, Shakin’ Nasties, Urban Shocks, Jackoffs and Menace with the intention of playing real rock'n’roll the way it was meant to be – snotty, moronic and straight to the point. These urban mariachis were Johnny Quid (vocals, amateur dramatics), Phlegm Gibson (guitar), Uncle J Khomeni (bass) and Ricky C (bongos). They'd bang out a furious 20-minute (smoking ban-friendly) set of short and catchy Modern Lovers meet Slaughter and the Dogs meet the Electric Eels inspired mini-operas with the kind of incompetent teenage enthusiasm which only the borderline middle-aged can truly muster.

With an album out on Dirty Water Records that sold out within days of hitting the shops, Johnny Throttle decided that they were getting way too successful too soon and, feeling the pressure, decided to quit there and then. With songs like “Spazztastic”, “Love Me Til I Come” and “I Wanna Be Your Ex” the authenticity of their seventies guttersnipe punk sound got rave reviews. There's not an ounce of fat to be found in their set; the songs are short, sharp and to the point, hardly even pausing for breath. As one review said: “I do not care what happened yesterday. Bands like Johnny Throttle make their own 1977 and, in any case, they would blow away their predecessors – Killyjoys, Eater, Drones, Valves – Johnny Throttle have more power than them all. Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's Johnny Throttle.”

With a revitalised line up, the band has returned to the stage on the odd occasion lately and are even, as we speak, working on new material. And knowing, as we do, who is currently in the band there is no doubt that, ten years on from when the band started, we can still expect a feral stage show that'll see them blast through a set of Ramones meets the Dead Boys garage punk at something beyond the speed of sound, with their wiry frontman stripping down and getting his gangly frame tied up in his mic cord in a way that Iggy would recognise all too well, but with spastic energy enough still to come across as not entirely contrived.

THE JACK CADES were born in late 2017 when former member of Dirty Water Records band Thee Vicars, Mike (lead guitar, vocals) along with Elsa (rhythm guitar, vocals) decided to record some of their songs at (drummer) Mole's State Studios in Folkestone, Kent. They invited John Gibbs (of The Masonics and The Wildebeests and former Kaiser) to record bass on some of their songs – which resulted in their debut mini-LP "Music for Children", which is out this spring on Dirty Water.

At first, the band wasn't sure if it could work full time as everybody was busy with other projects – The Baron Four, The Embrooks, The Galileo 7, The Missing Souls... But after recording, it wasn't a difficult decision to make. It sounded too good! The Jack Cades had to play live! They then had the brilliant idea of asking the lovely Alexandra (from Speedball Jr) to join them on bass.

The Jack Cades is a mix of the members' shared passion for the inspirational sounds of sixties garage bands, snotty seventies punk, sweaty rhythm'n'blues, and a whole lot of inspirational people. If this means nothing to you, it doesn't matter. Just listen to The Jack Cades and come see them play live, music for the soul and the ears.

Their debut live performance as The Jack Cades will be this afternoon session on Saturday 31 March, as a mise en bouche for the Beat Bespoke evening session with The Mummies and The Baron Four at 229.