With special guest, Jon Klein (guitar and beats) formerly with Siouxsie & the Banshees (1987-94)
Pics and a few words from Alan Dearling from the Todmorden Unitarian Church
Born John Joseph Wardle, Jah Wobble is a genuine, authentic bass legend. This is a re-purposing of the 1979 album, Public Image Limited – Metal Box album. It was a performance deeply redolent in rumbling bass and this five-piece band of musicians were tight and performed with purposeful musical precision. It was recognisably ‘Metal Box’, but darker, really rather weird, involving reinventing the album’s songs suffused in layer upon layer of dub interpretations and production.
In 2021 Jon Klein co-produced ‘Metal Box Rebuilt in Dub’ with Jah Wobble. They have been touring together since. A second album with Wobble, ‘A Brief History Of Now’, was released in August 2023. The overflowing ‘merch’ table was filled with vinyl, CDs, T-shirts and surrounded by examples of Jah Wobble’s own original artworks. A one-person artistic industrial complex!
Jah Wobble is an amiable front man. A bit of a Cockney thespian. Perhaps modelled on a mad-mix and mash-up of Ian Dury and Old Man Albert Steptoe! And, of course, on stage Jah Wobble hams it up wonderfully with his virtuoso version of the famous Richard III speech. “Now is our winter of discontent…” before launching into a lively rendition of ‘Poptones’. Very apt and appropriate as the Autumnal leaves fall towards the end of 2026.
It was all very dubby, jazz-rock with some pop and punk-funk undertows. Nice geezers too…
‘Public Image’ Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0459GIuQnQ
