Interview by Kris Peters
Bad Manners are ska/punk royalty.
Period.
No arguments, no debates, just pure, simple fact.
With a track listing including Lip Up Fatty, Special Brew, Walking In The Sunshine, Lorraine, Just A Feeling, My Girl Lollipop, Inner London Violence and of course the ultimate knees up Can Can, Bad Manners peaked back in the late 1970s but their enduring legacy has seen them survive all that Father Time has thrown their way as the band fronted by the legendary Buster Bloodvessel gears up for Australian assault with a Greatest Hits Tour this October.
Buster joined HEAVY earlier this week to run us through the life and times and future of Bad Manners.
"We are coming to tour your lovely country and eat all your pies," was his initial greeting.
Which was followed up by, "I don't really care if I offend anybody, but I'm not really an offensive person. I can be if it's pointed in my direction (laughs)."
We move on to the setlist, which, of course, is made up of fan favourites, but we ask Buster if there would be much difference to the songs played if he was to choose his own personal favourites.
"Not quite, but not far from it," he measured. "I mean, all the songs we do live are usually my favourites. Songs that make people dance have always worked for me."
In the full interview, Buster tells us what we can expect from the shows, what he never leaves home on tour without, the early days of Bad Manners and where they fit in, his early vision for the band and how it has changed since, what he feels was the best time period for the band, making allowances on stage as you get older, some of his personal highlights, changing with the music scene, his top three commandments of punk and more.