Gimme an Oi!: Sham 69 Returns to Beijing

I can still recall the thrill of listening to the ten-second-long piano/guitar bridge in “Hurry Up Harry” for the very first time, even after Sham 69 remade it into "Hurry Up England" as a football anthem. That was 2006, the year when the band returned to the Top 10 of the UK singles chart for the first time in more than 20 years and also the year of the departure of original vocalist Jimmy Pursey. The boys from Hersham are returning to rock Midi Festival; steadfast guitarist Dave Parsons gave us an insight into punk’s elder statesmen.

the Beijinger: What was the most shocking memory from your last Beijing show?
Dave Parsons: I don't really remember being shocked by anything, apart from the pollution and lack of coffee, especially first thing in the morning.

tbj: Was it totally different from what you expected?
DP: To be honest I don't really know what I expected, there were less police than I thought and we weren't hassled at all. I'd have liked to have seen more of the countryside and walked in the mountains etc.

tbj: Did you have any chance to check out local bands here?
DP: Not as much as I'd have liked, but we did see some and of course we played a lot with Chinese band The NONAME, I think we were all impressed by what we saw. It was also great to see bands in this part of the world carrying forth the banner of punk rock.

tbj: Sorry I wasn't there at the time but was there any violence going on in the audience?
DP: No not at all, the audiences were all really great; I hope it remains that way. In the west that sort of thing has become a thing of the past. Our aim with Sham 69 has always been for our audience to be united, no matter what tribe they come from or how they look; Punk is an attitude not a fashion statement.

tbj: How was it differently from your shows in the UK?
DP: It wasn't really that different at all. I think it was good because there was a kind of hunger for people to see this type of music and so there was a lot of energy in the air which of course the band feeds off of, it was also good to see a lot of younger people making the effort to come and check us out.

tbj: What brought you to China in the first place?
DP: A part of being in a band is the love of travel, to go to new places and to experience new cultures that are maybe different from our own, so curiosity was a big factor. We're not a band that likes to judge a country by what people tell us or what we see on the TV, the only way you can truly get to understand another country/culture is to go there and see the place and talk to the people face to face. So for us to finally be able to come and play in China was a great honor and an experience we couldn’t have passed up.

tbj: Let’s talk a bit about the World Cup. Which team do you consider as the biggest opponent/threat for England during the group stage?
DP: If we're clever we shouldn't have any problems, but England have a habit of thinking they're too good, and teams like the USA who have matured over the last few years could take us by surprise we need to stay focused and have respect for all the teams we’re playing from the start, if we could do that I really believe we have a chance of going all the way – we shall see!

tbj: Do you play football?
DP: I haven't played football properly for years now, but I used to play center forward.

Sham 69 (Jimmy Pursey on vocal) perform "Hurry Up Harry" on Top of The Pops (1978)

tbj: "Hurry Up England" became the band's first top 10 UK single in 26 years, you once said "Jimmy Pursey refused to perform 'Hurry Up England' on Top of the Pops 'until we’re number one', but the whole point is you do it when it’s number ten to make it number one." Does having a number one single in these days still mean that much to you (you know "Crazy Frog" did that too)?
DP: No it doesn't mean that much to me these days, what I was saying was that I was pissed off with Pursey because he wanted a hit record and had canceled a lot of gigs and tours for Sham in order to have a hit record, in the end it was his actions that stopped it from being number one, so he blew it on all fronts A, we didn’t play to a lot of people who were expecting us (in countries such as South America etc) and B, He didn’t get his precious number one! At that point in Sham 69 there was only one person Pursey cared about, and that was himself, as far as he was concerned (in his own words) ''anyone who doesn’t like it can just fuck off" so for the record – that’s what we did.

tbj: In a way it reminds me of how fans voted "Killing In the Name" NO.1 Christmas single. What do you make of campaigns like this?
DP: I think it's good that people can get together and have the power to make something positive happen, but that can only happen these days because it doesn't take that many record sales to have a hit, in the late 70s we were selling in a day what they would have sold in total – it’s just a sign of the times.

tbj: How did you find Tim V? It seems very difficult for fans to get used to when a band changes its lead vocal.
DP: You are right, to replace a front man is an almost impossible job, if I hadn't found Tim I probably wouldn't have carried on with Sham 69. Tim came with all the right credentials, he knew nearly everyone on the Punk circuit, and the best man at his wedding was one of the most respected people in Punk Mr Mark P (Sniffin' Glue magazine and ATV). So I've been really lucky, people come back stage after a gig and say that that was the best show they've ever seen from Sham, Tim does not patronize our audience and has the respect to remember the words to the songs his singing (unlike the old singer).

Sham 69 (Tim V on vocal) play at The Star Live (2009). Video courtesy of Mogo Music

tbj: Do you have any other projects going on besides Sham 69?
DP: I've always played with different musicians and written with different people, there may be something coming up in the pipeline but I'm not sure yet. My second solo album Unstable will be released sometime in the summer. But what is most important and will always be my number one priority is Sham 69, anything else I do will always come second to Sham.

tbj: The social scenes both in England and elsewhere have been changing a lot since the 70s, I'm sure that has an effect on where your inspirations come from. What does punk mean to you in these days?
DP: Things always change, but I think the heart and soul of what Punk rock stands for is the same, when you are 17 and in a punk band it's about unbridled rebellion, as you get older and more successful you can channel that energy into something more positive, there's always forces around that try to divide and rule, to create disharmony, my view of punk rock is to bring people together for a positive outcome, if the kids are united they have more of a chance of changing our world for the better. Punk rock is about thinking for yourself, not being a puppet for somebody else, standing up for what you believe in no matter what the consequences (and I know the consequences in China can be harder than the consequences we have in the West) in the end you have to be true to yourself.

tbj: Looking forward to seeing you guys in Midi! Please sing "Hurry Up Harry", not "Hurry Up England", because China didn't even qualify for the World Cup and that will make us sad…
DP: The last thing we want is to make you sad, I promise we won't sing "Hurry up England", but we will sing "Hurry up Harry" for you. And yes, we're all looking forward to coming back and playing in China, see you soon.

Sham 69 make kids united on Midi Music Festival at Haidian Park on May 1 (more festival details here). RMB 80. 7.20pm (Song-Pilot Stage). 2 Xinjiangongmen Lu, Haidian District (6285 0569) 海淀区新建宫门路2号