THE KIDS ARE UNITED - Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates and Penetration at 1978 Reading Rock Festival! 16mm Print!

 

Thursday, December 1st

Doors: 7:15pm

Film: 8:00pm

 

 

An extremely rare document of the 1978 Reading Rock Festival, featuring interviews and performances by Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates and Penetration. The film came at a time when the festival was in transition; punk had made its presence known for the first time in the festival lineup, yet interviewees Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) and the Jam’s frontman Paul Weller are presented as appealing to opposite ends of the punk spectrum. Pursey remains the anchor of the film – the young working-class punk with utopian ideals is contrasted sharply by the snide Weller who manages to turn everything into an insult, specifically as relates to Sham 69’s music. But Sham 69’s rapport with their fans can’t be understated, and as thousands of them chant in unison “if the kids are united...we will never be divided...”, the emotional Pursey famously breaks down in tears.

 

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Ce documentaire extrêmement rare documente le Reading Rock Festival de 1978 et comprends des entrevues et prestations de Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates et Penetration. Le film montre un festival en transition; bien que le punk rock y fasse son apparition pour la première fois, on y voit deux figures de proue (soit Jimmy Pursey de Sham 69 et Paul Weller de The Jam) qui semblent attirer deux pôles opposés de la scène punk. C’est tout de même Pursey qui est le pilier du film. Le jeune punk de classe ouvrière aux idéaux utopiques est mis en flagrant contraste avec le sournois Weller, qui semble capable de tourner n’importe quoi en insulte, surtout si cela tourne autour de la musique de Sham 69. Mais on ne peut sous-estimer le rapport entre Sham 69 et leurs fans. Quand des milliers de jeunes chantent à l’unission le refrain de leur chanson ‘If the Kids are United’, Pursey fond en larmes.