Belfast punk band The Outcasts are joining forces with punk rock royalty UK Subs for an epic night of music next month.
The event, taking place on Saturday August 20 at Voodoo Belfast, will give punk fans the chance to see some of the genre’s original trailblazers up close and personal.
The Outcasts, made up of brothers Greg and Martin Cowan along with JP and new guitarist Buck Defect, will play a long list of hits from The Cops are Coming and Just Another Teenage Rebel to Self-Conscious Over You. UK Subs, fronted by punk legend Charlie Harper, will play some of their best-loved numbers.
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Formed in 1977, The Outcasts are legends on the Belfast music scene having signed with Terri Hooley’s infamous Good Vibrations record label. Embracing their bad-boy image, The Outcasts came to represent the beating heart of Belfast’s thriving punk scene in its heyday.
More than 40 years on and following the success of the Bafta-nominated movie Good Vibrations which told the story of how Terri Hooley galvanised the city’s underground punk scene, the band are now signed with Philadelphia-based record label, Violated Records and released an EP under the label in 2019, their first since 1983.
The 2012 film, which featured The Outcasts as part of the story, will premiere on Disney+ on July 22.
Lead singer and guitarist Greg Cowan said: “There’s loads of exciting stuff going on at the minute, and we’re over the moon that people will get a chance to see Good Vibrations again. It’s a brilliant film and tells an incredible story about what went on in the punk scene back then in Belfast, with The Troubles as the backdrop. Practically no one came here to do gigs, so we had to figure it all out for ourselves.
“The film really helped in reviving The Outcasts, and ever since we’ve been touring and gigging in a way we never dreamt we’d be able to do again. But there’s nothing quite like playing in your hometown, and the Voodoo gig is going to be one of the great ones. Not only will we be performing in Belfast, one of the best places on the planet for punk, but this time we’ll be playing the same gig as the UK Subs, who are absolute legends in the punk world. We couldn’t be more excited.”
New to the band and joining The Outcasts for the first time in Belfast on the night will be guitarist Ian “Buck” Murdock, known as Buck Defect. Previously lead vocals with local punk band The Defects, he says he can’t wait to get stuck in.
He said : “I grew up listening to The Outcasts so it’s great to be able to join them onstage and perform all the songs of theirs I knew as a kid. At 58 I’m a lot younger than the rest of them, so we’ll have to see if they can keep up with me on the night!”
Also this summer The Outcasts will be playing at a major punk festival in Blackpool, before heading on tour in the autumn visiting France and Switzerland.
Tickets for the over-18 event at Voodoo Belfast are available at Eventbrite.co.uk.
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