In 1977, The Ruts emerged from London with a sound unlike anybody else around them - the raw urgency of punk colliding with reggae, dub and rock, driven by formidable musicianship and a fierce sense of purpose.
With Malcolm Owen, Paul Fox, Dave Ruffy and Segs Jennings, The Ruts created a body of music whose power has endured far beyond its original moment.
The Singles: In A Rut. Babylon’s Burning. Something That I Said. Jah War. Staring At The Rude Boys. West One (Shine On Me).
The Album: The Crack: One of the defining British punk albums of its era: urgent, inventive, politically aware and musically fearless. These songs became part of the fabric of British punk -- and a sound that refused to stay within punk’s boundaries.
After losing Malcolm Owen in 1980, the remaining members chose integrity over nostalgia by re-inventing themselves as Ruts DC, eventually losing the legend that was Paul Fox in 2007
But the story does not end there.
Ruts DC remain a living, evolving band to this day. But the time has come to celebrate the whole story…
RUTS DC present: 50 YEARS OF RUTS MUSIC - 1977-2027
These shows are about taking the music that exploded out of a movement and bringing it onto a stage in 2027 with all its urgency and relevance intact.
Music made across five decades — from The Crack and Grin & Bear It, through Animal Now, Rhythm Collision, Music Must Destroy, and Counterculture?
“This ain’t no nostalgia trip, it’s a celebration”
The anniversary shows will embrace the entire history while putting Ruts music where it belongs: at the heart of it all.
The songs. The attitude. The energy. The Punk. Performed by the people that were there, ably abetted by Ruts DC guitarist of 14 years — Leigh Heggarty.
Honouring the legacy — while doing what Ruts DC have always done: bringing it into the now.
Not a reunion. Not a recreation. Not a tribute band.
A celebration of fifty years of music, friendship, resilience and creative evolution — played in the present tense.
