Punk’s not dead - and North Herts veterans The Bleach Boys return to live action in Stevenage on Thursday

Published: 5:21 AM February 2, 2015 Updated: 8:03 PM November 1, 2020

Evergreen punks The Bleach Boys return to live action - Credit: Archant

Veteran punk outfit The Bleach Boys return to live action for the first time in 2015 at Stevenage’s Red Lion pub on Thursday night.

The band, who all hail from the North Herts area, can trace their roots back to the golden age of punk in the 1970s, with original members John Barnett – also known as Phnuff – on bass and Marko Rocket on guitar still going strong.

In today’s line-up they are joined by Mark Ozo on drums and Matt Halford on vocals.

Record Collector magazine has named their first release, 1977’s Chloroform, as one of the top 10 collectable singles of the punk era and copies have changed hands for more than £100.

They play locally two or times a year and other dates provisionally pencilled in include the Balstock festival in September.

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The Rebellion punk festival in Blackpool in August and a foray to Europe are also part of the 2015 plan.

What does punk mean these days? According to Hitchin-born John: “To me it’s loud, fast but most of all has to have a good song. Forget the well-written song and you have nothing but a noise – although we do a bit of noise, too.”