XGENERATIONX – CELLAR BAR, THE BRUNSWICK, HOVE 9.11.25 (MATINEE)
Celebrated original Generation X drummer, Mark Laff, has returned with his supergroup XGenerationX (stylized as XGENERATIONX). He has put together an all star pedigree lineup of truly like-minded souls, which features guitarist James Stevenson from the final incarnation of Generation X, namely ‘Gen X’, and who was also in Gene Loves Jezebel (when they supported David Bowie on tour in the mid 1980’s), as well as being in the Alarm, the Cult, and Chelsea. Plus in 2011, Stevenson and former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock put together the International Swingers with vocalist Gary Twinn and Blondie drummer Clem Burke. Also in XGenerationX, as guitarist, is none other than Spandau Ballet’s tenor saxophonist Steve Norman who witnessed Generation X perform live several times in their early days including at the iconic Marquee club in London. Norman is famed for performing with Spandau Ballet at Live Aid in 1985. Lead vocals for XGenerationX comes under the remit of Stevenson’s American born ex-wife Elizabeth Westwood, who along with former Generation X guitarist Bob “Derwood” Andrews formed Westworld, who are best remembered for their UK hit ‘Sonic Boom Boy’. Cementing the lineup is bassist Michael Giaquinto who is best known for being a member of Bristol punk rock outfit Vice Squad for eight years.
Laff began playing drums as a teenager and as we learned today was heavily influenced by legendary Who stixman Keith Moon. Laff was invited to audition for The Clash on the same day as Topper Headon, but an urgent request to go out on tour with Subway Sect on that very Thursday sealed the then 18 year olds position within the band. Subway Sect then shared the bill with the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Siouxsie and the Banshees for the ‘Anarchy’ and ‘White Riot’ tours. However, Laff left Subway Sect for pastures new in April 1977, namely for Generation X, and the band replaced him with Bob Ward. Subway Sect went on to release debut single ‘Nobody’s Scared’ b/w ‘Don’t Split It’ in 1978 and supported Buzzcocks on tour, including the famed Brighton riot gig at the Top Rank Suite (now PRYZM) on 8th November 1978, which was my first ever concert!
This was an inspired move by Laff as within just a few months Generation X were snapped up by Chrysalis Records (who would later sign Spandau Ballet) and released their first single, ‘Your Generation’, which even crashed into the UK Singles Chart at No.38. A whole host of truly solid singles followed, including ‘Wild Youth’, ‘Ready Steady Go’ and most successfully in 1979 with ‘King Rocker’ which was released in 4 different limited edition coloured vinyl’s with 4 different sleeves, one each of the then band members; Billy Idol (red), Tony James (pink), Bob Andrew (orange) and Mark Laff (yellow). I purchased my Mark Laff yellow vinyl 7” single from L&H Cloake at the back of Churchill Square, Brighton at the time! Find out more about Brighton’s old record shops HERE.
Wind the clock forward to this year and Laff and chums announced a 13-date UK XGenerationX tour calling in at Hebden Bridge, Glasgow, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Hull, Birkenhead, London, Stockport, Birmingham and Colchester. The opening gig was thankfully scheduled for today in Hove at The Brunswick, but such was demand, that an additional matinee concert with a Q & A was added, and thus this being their first ever live performance! Well of course we had to attend the matinee performance didn’t we!
Thankfully things were kept nice and punky as the first two XGenerationX performances are taking place within the bowels of the venue down in the low-ceilinged Cellar Bar. With a ‘bottle of pop’ and Burning Sky’s ‘Arise’ purchased, we carefully make our way down the steep stairs into the performance room. We swung open the door and were warmly greeted by someone from the venue as well as the event organisers. The room was already relatively full, but we found our spots and before we knew it the quintet all clad in black took to the stage area. There are hearty cheers of joy from the excited punters, who are mainly of a certain age, as the musicians arrive. Laff takes the microphone and says “Well this is very very nice. Thank you for coming”. He then goes onto introduce the band. Norman then adds that this is the first time ever that they have played in front of a crowd and only their fourth time ever playing together. This raises the excitement within the room!
To the centre rear is Mark Laff on “the bins”, and the quartet are spread out in front of him, with stage right (our left) being taken up by Steve Norman on fancy red signature guitar and backing vocals; to his left is Michael Giaquinto on Fender Precision bass and backing vocals; front centre is Elizabeth Westwood on lead vocals and maracas; and stage left (our right) is James Stevenson on Gibson guitar and backing vocals. We received a 40 minute set which ran from 5:03pm to 5:43pm and consisted of 11 Generation X tunes, which was followed by an intimate Q & A session.
Where do they start? Well obviously it’s gotta be ‘Ready Steady Go’ from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album. Having heard the tune umpteen times down the decades it was a slight jar to the system to be hearing it for the first time with female vocals, but we must remember that this is Laff and chums take on treasured oldies and it’s their way of keeping the songs alive. At present, there’s absolutely no hope at all of the originals forming back together as they currently don’t communicate with each other. I had witnessed a formation of sorts at ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ at Crystal Palace Park on 1st July 2023, when Generation Sex got it on, this being former Generation X members Billy Idol (lead vocals) and Tony James (bass), along with Steve Jones (guitar, vocals) and Paul Cook (drums, backing vocals) of Sex Pistols fame. That day we were given a dozen tunes with half of these being Generation X tracks (Review HERE), but this did have a corporate cash cow feeling to it, whereas Laff’s XGenerationX obviously cannot compete with the big-hitters, but I know that everyone in the room this afternoon will get the feeling that there’s a true honesty about what these five are doing, and it’s certainly not for the money, but it’s to get across their take on golden age Generation X tunes in compact grassroots music venues, which is true to how punk started out.
There was a fast drum intro and ‘Day By Day’ from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album was their next choice and this was followed by another cut from the same LP, this being ‘From The Heart’, which was well received. ‘Trying For Kicks’ from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Fridays Angels’ single then rocked along nicely. It was back to the debut long-player with ‘Promises Promises’, the title of which is often repeated. Things were then taken up a notch with the arrival of the anthemic ‘One Hundred Punks’ which the punters dutifully lapped up. After which Laff announces that the next number was his “biggest hit”…cue ‘King Rocker’ from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ album. Rightly so he kicked this corker off as he laid into his “bins”. It was pure joy to be able to listen and watch their rendition of this timeless classic.
‘Kleenex’ from the debut self-titled Generation X album was their next selection and Westwood was showing her fitness throughout the set with the occasional high kick as well the regular crouching down and delivering the vocals. I was standing at the front and yet at the time I had somehow omitted to see the open laptop by my feet, which had the scrolling lyrics as Westwood sang, so maybe there was a method in her madness. Laff then informs us that the next tune was his second biggest hit, and the slower title track of 1979’s ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ was given an outing. I hadn’t previously noticed, but it comes with an almost speedy version of Talking Heads’ ‘Psychokiller’ beat. There was time for one more cut from the debut album, this time it was ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ which was kicked off by Stevenson on his Gibson in a sedate way. I’m not sure if it’s getting to that time of year, but I somehow sensed that it had a Christmas hit vibe to it. Judging by the loud whoops and applause at the end, this was a very popular selection.
I could clearly see their setlists and it was listing Generation X’s 1979 ‘Wild Youth’ single as the next tune, followed by ‘Gimme Some Truth’ from Generation X’s 1979 ‘King Rocker’ single. However, Westwood was mindful of the forthcoming Q & A session as time had to be allocated for it, and so she announced that Generation X’s 1977 ‘Your Generation’ single was to be their sign-off. Although I was miffed that I wasn’t to hear those two songs as well as 4 further tunes, which was to include some surprise selections for those that could not see the setlists, I was actually really looking forward to the talky part as I could learn more about the characters.
The musicians left the stage and returned around 15 minutes later and perched upon stools in front of us and the Q & A session had begun. I could be wrong here, but I’m pretty sure that Laff was standing virtually next to me at the bar of The Prince Albert on 8th June 2019 for the Q & A session by my then-to-be partner Jordan Mooney for the launch of her ‘Defying Gravity’ book. You can read the account of that night HERE. This evening’s Q & A was a less formal affair, but you could feel the love from the crowd as to what they had just witnessed. There were a number of quality questions, including their thoughts on AI (artificial intelligence); about Laff’s days in Subway Sect; the early days of Generation X; how did XGenerationX get together, and so on. The key answer I took from the session was that next year is considered to be the 50th anniversary of punk (don’t tell the Ramones) and that Laff didn’t want the Generation X tunes to be lost! And that’s why we are here today!
We were graciously invited to stay for the evening performance as well, but with us having been out all day and night for the ‘Mutations Festival’ across the past two days, and the need for a kebab and burger, we made our swift exit. As we got to the door, the young lad who had been checking the punters into the venue and who was more than likely associated with the venue and not the promoters, asked us if we had had a nice time. He then divulged to us that he had felt privileged to have just witnessed the afternoon’s proceedings. I told him that it was XGenerationX’s debut gig, and this added to his joy! Yes it had been a “I was there!” gig!
XGenerationX:
Mark Laff – drums
James Stevenson – guitar, backing vocals
Steve Norman – guitar, backing vocals
Elizabeth Westwood – lead vocals, shakers
Michael Giaquinto – bass, backing vocals
XGenerationX matinee setlist:
‘Ready Steady Go’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Day By Day’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘From The Heart’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Trying For Kicks’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Fridays Angels’ single)
‘Promises Promises’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘One Hundred Punks’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘King Rocker’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ album)
‘Kleenex’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Valley Of The Dolls’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ album)
‘Kiss Me Deadly’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Your Generation’ (from Generation X’s 1977 ‘Your Generation’ single)
(interval)
“Q & A Session”
XGenerationX listed evening setlist:
‘Ready Steady Go’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Day By Day’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘From The Heart’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Trying For Kicks’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Fridays Angels’ single)
‘Promises Promises’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘One Hundred Punks’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘King Rocker’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ album)
‘Kleenex’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Valley Of The Dolls’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ album)
‘Kiss Me Deadly’ (from Generation X’s 1978 ‘Generation X’ album)
‘Wild Youth’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘Wild Youth’ single)
‘Gimme Some Truth’ (from Generation X’s 1979 ‘King Rocker’ single)
‘Your Generation’ (from Generation X’s 1977 ‘Your Generation’ single)
‘Rock On’ (from Generation X’s 1977 ‘Perfect Hits Vol 2’ EP of John Peel Session recorded 12th July 1977 & first broadcast 21st July 1977, repeated 10th August 1977)
(encore)
‘Sonic Boom Boy’ (from Westworld’s 1987 ‘Where The Action Is’ album)
‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ (from Spandau Ballet’s 1981 ‘Journeys To Glory’ album)
‘Into The Valley’ (from Skids 1979 ‘Scared To Dance’ album)
