TV Smith / TVOM + Alvin Gibbs & the Disobedient Servants at the 100 Club in London on 4 January 2024.
First gig of 2024 for me and what a way to start the year !
The iconic 100 club in London played host to TVOM (TV Smith, with Vom Ritchie from Toten Hosen), along with Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants, and the Derellas, as part of their annual Resolution Punk Festival.
I didn’t manage to get any photos of the Derellas, but their glam-punk music was good fun to listen to and they put on a very good show as the first support band.
Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants are headed by UK Subs’ long-serving and popular bass guitarist Alvin Gibbs and boasts a member of the Ruts amongst the line up. They play an intelligent brand of alternative rock music with Alvin impressively carrying out vocal as well as bass duties, backed by his very competent fellow musicians. Gizz Butt from the Prodigy and former member of the UK Subs joined the band on guitar for a couple of numbers towards the end. This was the fast time that I had seen them play live and very impressed I was too. It certainly won’t be the last time that I see them.
TVOM is the combination of TV Smith, former Adverts frontman, and Vom Ritchie who is the drummer with German mega-band Toten Hosen. They play a mix of classic Adverts songs and more recent TV Smith solo numbers, with Vom’s drums and backing vocals adding colour to Tim’s acoustic guitar and lead vocals. It is not often that they play together in the U.K, so this was a rare occasion to catch them, and in such an historic venue too.
Two members of the Ruts made an appearance on stage towards the end of the TVOM set to give a full band rendition of a couple of Adverts songs, including the ubiquitous ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’. A few familiar faces in the audience for me too, so a great way to start the gigging year.
