Crass

They derived their band name from a sentence – ‘The kids were just crass’ – from David Bowies classic ‘Ziggy Stardust’. Crass hollered that they were not only DIY, they lived it too. So they had their own community (Dial House), ran their own record label (Crass Records), and designed their own now iconic album covers. With the track ‘Punk Is Dead’, they sneered at The Sex Pistols and The Clash who had soon sold their souls to major record labels.

Their classics ‘The Feeding of the 5000’ (’78) and ‘Stations of the Crass’ (’79) still sound just as highly topical and brutal these days. Moreover, the soul of Crass lives on with vigour in the form of a band called Sleaford Mods (who name-drop them whenever they can). Björk adores them too, even if only because Crass released the first two albums of her band Kükl on their very own Crass Records.

Steve Ignorant presents ‘Crass Songs 1977-1984’

Exactly 35 years after Crass threw in the towel (Crass had already decided that they would stop in the ‘George Orwell’ year of 1984 when they started the band), Crass-frontman Steve Ignorant decided to head out on the road again and perform songs from the rich Crass oeuvre. The dismal state of current affairs simply obliges him to.

Line up:

Steve Ignorant (vocals)

Carol Hodge (vocals & keys)

Pete Wilson (gitaar)

Pete Rawlinson (bass)

Q&A with Steve Ignorant by Silke Bergans (Democrazy, Girls Go Boom)

Steve Ignorant is a torrent of words and a barrel full of stories. Crass fan and artistic director Kurt Overbergh will cross-examine him about the past, the present, and the future.

Screening of Crass (related) documentaries

‘Crass. The Sound of Free Speech. The Story of Reality Asylum.’

(90 min – director: Brandon Spivey – 2022)

Belgian premiere of the documentary 'Crass. The Sound of Free Speech. The Story of Reality Asylum.' The story of Crass from the mouths of the Crass members themselves. In their own words, the film is "a celebration and exploration of Class Rebellion, Blasphemy, Art and Music.

TIMINGS:

16:30: DOORS

CONTINUOUS @ AB Vitrine (Steenstraat) The Art of Crass by Gee Vaucher. Blow ups of Crass record sleeves

17:00 – 17:45: Q&A met Steve Ignorant

18:00 – 19:30: Screening of ‘Crass. The Sound of Free Speech. The Story of Reality Asylum.’ (90 min – Brandon Spivey – 2022)

PAUSE

20:00: Headsticks

21:00: Steve Ignorant presents ‘Crass songs 1977-1984’