Chelsea 50th Anniversay Tour

Chelsea 50th Anniversary Tour at The Cluny on 13 June 2026 at 18h30.

Chelsea - the history
It was in August 1976 that Gene October placed an advert in Melody Maker, which led to replies from guitarist William Broad, bassist Tony James and drummer John Towe. On 18 October 1976 they made their live debut as Chelsea supporting Throbbing Gristle at London's ICA. At this time Gene convinced the manager of a gay London nightclub in Covent Garden called Shageramas to convert the club into London's first live punk rock venue called The Roxy. The band split in November 1976, when Gene briefly recruited guitarist Marty Stacey and bassist Bob Jessie. The other three former members formed Generation X. When Gene was asked about his former band colleagues he said, "Generation X? Oh yeah they used to be in Chelsea."

In early 1977 Jessie and Stacey left and Gene put together a new line-up consisting of guitarist James Stevenson, bassist Henry Daze and drummer Carey Fortune. This line-up was slightly more permanent and soon the band's first single, Right to Work, was released. Not long after the release of the second single, High Rise Living, Chelsea played their farewell gig on 6 October 1977 at The Roxy.

Gene appeared in Henry Rollins's tour memoir book and spoken word CD Get in the Van. In the book, Rollins encountered October twice, the first time on an early Black Flag tour of the UK, when October kept kicking Rollins to wake him up. The second encounter occurred during a later Black Flag tour.

Gene appeared in two films by Derek Jarman: Jubilee, in which he played the character Happy Days, and in Caravaggio he appeared as a fruit-eating model. Gene can also be seen in a blue suit at the rugby match scene in the horror film The Omen. Gene appeared on the TV series Minder and is also the scroll-reading monk in the Black Sabbath video for Headless Cross.

In December Chelsea reformed as a five-piece with rhythm guitarist Dave Martin, bassist Geoff Myles and drummer Steve J. Jones joining October and Stevenson. They toured and the third single, Urban Kids, was released before drummer Chris Bashford replaced Steve J. Jones. The first album was released in early 1979 and the band continued to tour, including UK dates supporting The Clash and another tour with The Police supporting them. They also made their first foray into the US with an East Coast tour. As the first album contained none of the band's singles, a compilation of them was released as the second album, Alternative Hits, which also featured a couple of new tracks. The album sleeve, designed by drummer Chris Bashford, was banned in the US and was renamed No Escape for that territory.

This line-up's final show was at London's Notre Dame Hall on 2 May 1980. Sting guested on a few numbers. James Stevenson, after playing on Charlie Harper's debut solo single Barmy London Army, went on to join the final incarnation of Generation X before spending a year in Kim Wilde's band. Stevenson formed Hot Club with former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and in 1985 he joined Gene Loves Jezebel. Dave Martin and Geoff Myles formed The Smart and Gene recruited a new Chelsea line-up and took it back out on the road.

A temporary line-up still featuring drummer Chris Bashford toured America later in 1980 during which their appearance in Urgh! A Music War was shot. Then in December 1980 the band split, leaving Gene once again to rebuild and relaunch Chelsea. Having produced singles such as Right to Work and the self-titled debut LP, Gene continued developing the band and over the next three years released new material.

A new Chelsea line-up featuring drummer Sol Mintz, bassist Tim Griffin and guitarists Stephen Corfield and Nic Austin debuted in January 1981. Austin became a strong songwriting partner for Gene, as aired on Rocking Horse, the line-up's first single and Chelsea's first for over a year. The band was reduced to a four-piece following the departure of Corfield, and a gig at London's Fulham Greyhound once again featured Sting guesting on bass as Griffin left the day before, later replaced in September 1981 by Paul "Linc". 1982 saw continuous gigging and the So What Tour with Anti-Nowhere League, and the release of the third Chelsea album, Evacuate.

After 1984 this version of Chelsea came to a close. Gene issued a couple of solo singles, Suffering in the Land and Don't Quit (the latter featuring James Stevenson and Glen Matlock). Chelsea took a hiatus for a few years before Gene put together various line-ups, releasing the albums Original Sinners, Rocks Off and Underwraps. Underwraps is notable for featuring The Clash's Topper Headon on drums. German punk band Die Toten Hosen covered Chelsea's debut 45 The Right to Work, which went platinum. Gene commented, "Collectors items... I don't give a damn."

1992 saw Nic Austin's return to Chelsea with new recruits Mat Sargent on bass and Stuart Soulsby on drums. After touring Europe the album The Alternative was recorded and released in April 1993 on Miles Copeland's I.R.S. label Alto Ego. Rob Miller was recruited as second guitarist for two extensive Chelsea tours of the UK and Europe, also recording the album Traitors Gate, which was released in August 1994 on the Wesser label. Both The Alternative and Traitors Gate were produced by Dave Goodman, renowned for his work with the Sex Pistols. 1994 also saw the release of the first Gene October solo album, Life and Struggle, which was co-produced by James Stevenson. Mat Sargent went on to join Sham 69, also becoming veteran bass player for Splodgenessabounds.

The classic Chelsea line-up featuring Gene October, James Stevenson, Dave Martin, Geoff Myles and Chris Bashford reformed for the Social Chaos tour across America in 1999. These were their first shows together since 1980.

The line-up of October, Stevenson, Bashford and Myles did sporadic gigs including Holidays in the Sun festival 2001, Punk Aid at The Garage in London in September 2000 and the 100 Club in London in September 2001. Bassist Tony Barber, borrowed from the Buzzcocks, stood in as bass player for tours of Germany, France, the Czech Republic and UK appearances. Stevenson joined Mike Peters's revamped The Alarm, although he continued playing in Chelsea.

2005 saw the release of a new Chelsea album, Faster, Cheaper and Better Looking. The Chelsea anthology Urban Kids was also released in January 2005 on Sanctuary, containing a wide cross-section of the band's recordings made between 1977 and 1983, as well as some bonus Gene October solo tracks including his previously unreleased version of the Stooges' Raw Power.

October 2011 saw the return of Mat Sargent and Nic Austin to the Chelsea fold after 18 years, joining Gene October and James Stevenson. The release of the tenth Chelsea studio album, Saturday Night Sunday Morning, in April 2015 brought writing collaborations spanning musicians throughout Chelsea's 40-year history. The 2015 Urban UK tour followed, promoting the new album, as did The Singles Album, which was released on white vinyl on the band's label Westworld Recordings.

2016 saw the Chelsea 40th anniversary tour and the release of the entire back catalogue of albums in the Chelsea definitive anthology volumes 1, 2 and 3. Each volume includes three albums chronologically with a history of the band through the years. The album re-releases include lyrics, bonus tracks, demos and previously unreleased tracks. Traitors Gate was released on clear vinyl, The Alternative on red vinyl and Faster Cheaper Better Looking on white vinyl.

In June 2017 the new album Mission Impossible was recorded and released on 20 October 2017. The Mission Impossible tour 2017/18 saw Chelsea play France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. Plagued with tour bus trouble, the band went through 10 buses on the tour but made it to every show. Stevenson and Morall left after the Mission Impossible tour, and Steve Grainger took over on drums. James still occasionally guests with Chelsea.

2019 saw a Rebellion tour. Chelsea played UK shows and a European tour in September. The band wrote and demoed songs for a new album, designing the album cover drawn on canvas in the back of the tour bus. The band's album artwork was shown at the Punk Rock Art Show at London Bridge and Chelsea played a live set. Chelsea headlined Undercover Festival in March 2020 before the Covid pandemic and started recording the new album.

2021 saw the release of Chelsea's twelfth studio album Meanwhile Gardens on the band's 45th anniversary and included ex-Chelsea members from throughout the years as guest musicians. Martin Stacey and Bob Jessie from the 1977 line-up, James Stevenson from the debut album, Rob Miller from the Traitors Gate album and Mike Spenser from The Cannibals guested on harmonica. The album was recorded between lockdowns in 2020.

2024 saw the Be What You Wanna Be UK tour take the band out on gigs including the Scarborough Punk Festival and the Hard Rock Hell Festival at Leicester O2.