ANARCHY IN THE SUNSHINE: SEX PISTOLS AND CO. CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF PUNK

LIVE REVIEW | ANARCHY IN THE UK – 50 YEARS OF PUNK – SEX PISTOLS FEAT. FRANK CARTER w/ Stiff Little Fingers, Dr John Cooper Clarke, The Undertones | CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER | 12th July 2026 by Craig Harston

Punk rock and summer go hand in hand, and what better way to celebrate 50 years of punk than under the blue skies and blazing sun we’ve currently been enjoying in the UK? Assembling an excellent roster of their punk rock pals, the Sex Pistols and Frank Carter could not have put together a better line up to celebrate such a huge milestone.

Hitting the stage first were Derry’s The Undertones with their poppier brand of punk. Getting the crowd going from the off with plenty of clapping on ‘You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It)’ and a breakneck performance of ‘Male Model’, they more than rose to the occasion of kicking off the afternoon! ‘The Love Parade’ and ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ followed – the former with the obligatory waving to the train that stopped on the bridge that overlooks the venue. This was followed by a great sing-along and back-and-forth on ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ and a thundering version of ‘Thrill Me’.

Blasting through the rest of their set with singer Paul McLoone really hitting the long notes on ‘It’s Going To Happen!’, perpetual classic ‘Teenage Kicks’ and inspired huge sing-alongs on ‘Here Comes The Summer’ (the most apt song of the evening) and ‘My Perfect Cousin’. The Undertones got through their set that quickly they had time for an extra song, adding in the always great ‘Get Over You’.

Dr. John Cooper Clarke was up next. While he was entertaining, it felt like he should have been the opening act rather than the second artist on the lineup. Still, the “Manchester punk poet” was enjoyable enough, keeping the crowd laughing with his thoughts on life in general before the inevitable return to the music.

Essentially playing an encore to their belting UK tour earlier this year, Stiff Little Fingers felt more self-assured than ever as they hit the stage to ‘Tin Soldiers’ and a powerful performance of ‘Nobody’s Hero’, getting the crowd going with fists in the air throughout. Amidst almost constant chants of “Fingers!, Fingers!, Fingers!, SLF started a huge dance party for ‘Roots Radicals Rockers And Reggae’. This was followed by frontman Jake Burns pointing out he wasn’t sure he was actually in Manchester, given it wasn’t raining for a change!

Great renditions of ‘Back To Front’ and ‘State Of Emergency’ followed, before a huge sing-along on ‘Silver Linings’. Introducing the song, Burns pointed out how great it is that things have changed for the better since 1981 -adding (“For any Americans in the audience, that’s sarcasm” – before launching into a blistering performance of ‘At The Edge’.

Stiff Little Fingers cover of The Specials‘ ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ is always an easy highlight of their live shows, and today was no exception, Burns stating it was the best song in their set, once again getting the crowd singing along to every word and giving everyone goosebumps when he hit that long note. As usual, the crowd kicked off ‘Gotta Gettaway’ before SLF closed out their set with their two most popular songs, ‘Suspect Device’ and ‘Alternative Ulster’, both going down an absolute storm. Stiff Little Fingers’ live shows are that good, they almost upstaged the headliners!

Almost. But not quite.

Since the Sex Pistols’ resurrection a couple of years ago, they’ve gone from strength to strength with the addition of charismatic frontman Frank Carter, delivering a string of raucous live shows. John Cooper Clarke returned to the stage to introduce them before the foursome hit the stage to ‘Holidays in the Sun’, performing in front of a truely great backdrop displaying images of all four members from across the last 50 years.

Carter had the crowd singing along on the next song, ‘Seventeen’, before attempting to get a circle pit going for ‘New York’ – humorously acknowledging the general age of the crowd is quite a bit older. Not long after, he threw himself into the audience, crowd-surfing back to the stage towards the end of the classic ‘Pretty Vacant’.

Carter kept the momentum going with a great back-and-forth on ‘Bodies’, got the crowd bouncing throughout ‘Liar’, and united everyone with the refrain “No future for you” during a chaotic but excellent performance of ‘God Save The Queen’. ‘No Fun’ featured “the slowest circle pit ever”, a fucking epic guitar solo from Steve Jones and introductions for the whole band during the bridge, ironically making it perhaps the most fun song of the set!

Following an angry version of ‘No Feelings’, Carter talked about what a privilege it was to be able to perform with the best punk band of all time, stating that he wouldn’t even better here if it wasn’t for the Sex Pistols. Closing out the set with their punked-up cover of Frank Sinatra‘s ‘My Way’ (with obligatory torches in the crowd during the opening verses) and a banging performance of ‘Anarchy In The UK’, the Sex Pistols once again proved they’ve still got it after half a century.

Considering the vast range of ages in attendance, the punk rock ethos is clearly still as relevant as ever, and the Sex Pistols – and every band who played – had everyone united under the punk rock banner.

The Anarchy In The UK has a couple more dates in 2026, with tickets available here.

And just announced, to mark 30 years since the Sex Pistols burst back onto the scene, fans will this year be able to buy Filthy Lucre Live as a 2LP red vinyl set featuring bonus tracks. Out 20th November you can Pre-order NOW.