From the present-day angst of the Lambrini Girls right through to the hit-machine that is Blondie we are about to embark upon a trip from the sneering curled-lipped Kings Road to the rites of passage of the legendary CBGB via the strife of Northern Ireland and the north-west. I digress, meantime there’s the sizeable proposition of a hand-selected bill of the finest punk on offer. The likes of Noel Gallagher, Primal Scream and First Aid Kit will retrace their steps on the reconstructed stage in a few weeks’ time. History abounds across this park the FA Cup final, for two decades, was held on the site of the nearby National Sports Centre whilst Bob Marley held his last ever, and largest, concert in the capital city in the CP Bowl. In a state of neglection it was, tragically, destroyed in a blaze in late 1936. The dog days of summer, associated with the helical rising of Sirius, are just around the corner and on this balmy July day we gather on the Italian terraces that once led up to The Crystal Palace, relocated from its original location in Hyde Park in 1854. Others of a more casual musical allegiance are drawn by the ‘sounds of the suburbs’ the hits beloved of so many and of those countless compilations that share the contextual triumphs of a defining moment. Families with their offspring are here for the day, a passing of the baton to the next generation. Metalheads mingle with rockers, it’s all rather salubrious in a musical sense. Old school punks gather alongside those who’ve taken the ethos in a modern-day context. The Pied Piper of Punk, none other than the overlord himself, Iggy Pop, has issued a rallying call. Instead, what is occurring here in the leafy environs of hilly Crystal Palace is a gathering of the clans. No cops, no robbers, no banks being held up mercifully. It’s a Dog Day Afternoon here south of the Thames, close to the border of Surrey and Kent.
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