Cheap Sweaty Fun #329
June 2024 sees the 40th anniversary of the very first show promoted by the legendary Newport promoters, “Cheap Sweaty Fun” (CSF), a gig which would kickstart a run of over 300 amazing and memorable nights, and would include some of the first UK performances by Hüsker Dü and the Butthole Surfers, plus unforgettable gigs by the likes of Bad Brains, Hole and Fugazi, as well as hosting gigs on the first UK tours of future megastars Green Day and The Offspring.
The very first show promoted by the fledgling promoters featured BLURT, the post-punk-minimalist-anarchy-beat-poetry-with-saxophone-trio, who were one of the first signings to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, plus new band (then!) Give Me Memphis, formed from the ashes of one of Newport’s first punk bands, Ralph and the Ponytails.
Now, exactly 40 years later and with both bands miraculously surviving the intervening decades, join as we replay the gig that set the ball rolling on the nascent promoter’s incredible journey.
Guaranteed Fun, just bring your reasonably priced cardboard ticket for entry and come prepared to sweat like it’s 1984.
