Hard Skin

We’re The Fucking Mustard – Live in Dijon, 1983

JT Classics

Lies, Damned Lies and statistics is the driving force behind the powerful persuasiveness of numbers. Sometimes with Hard Skin you can’t discern between what is true and what is not. They walk the tightrope of truth but sure that’s part of the fun. This album subtitled live in Dijon 1983 at a time when All the madmen records was a tape traders dream and JT Classics may have been a record label in someones dreams. On the inside we get a list of all the gigs the band played between 1998 and 2018 which is probably closer to the truth. It would make sense that this is a twenty year celebration. But really what does it matter?

What is important is that this exists. This is not a band of perfection. This is a band happy to get on stage and pretend to have total contempt for their audience. They pour scorn on all that moves but in reality they are making as much fun of themselves as anyone. It’s reverse psychology. We all need to be able to laugh at ourselves and not take all we do too seriously. Having said that we have to be serious that fascism has no place in our search for free speech.

It’s songs about football and beer without knowing whether they are autobiographical. it doesn’t matter if you don’t drink alcohol and sing along to Beer and Fags. It’s the concept. The idea that beneath it all, beneath the lies, damned lies and statistics we have a family, a punk rock community that can look after each other. Fat Bob, Nipper and Johnny Takeaway are part of that family and just like a family gathering this is one of irreverence and completely tactless, but at the end of the day we love them like family.

niallhope

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