GRENADE MAGAZINE

It wasn’t just me getting emotional. There
was a lot of people there like the audience as
well. Of course they can hear the songs again on
vinyl or CD but where a lot of the emotion came
from was that for a lot of those people, what
Crass did was touch people very deeply somehow
and its been with them for most of their lives, so
for a lot of them to talk to me or actually see
those songs preform live, it was a real emotional
sort of thing. And again, going back to what I
said about the pressure, I knew I had to do a
really good job. I just couldn’t destroy these
peoples expectations. I'll tell you one thing. My
favourite book of all time is Kes by Barry Hines.
He’s sadly dead now but he got alzheimer's and
couldn’t even remember what he had written, all
those great books he had written, anyway his
wife was there at the gig and to meet her and his
son, well I had tears coming down my face. I just
wanted too say thanks and I think that’s what a
lot of the Crass fans got as well. Its not hero
worship or any crap like that, its like thanks,
thanks for not letting me feel that I was alone
sort of thing.
SO COME THE NEXT DAY, YOU WAKE
UP AFTER FAREWELL 'LAST SUPPER'
GIG, EARS OBVIOUSLY RINGING, DID IT
FEEL LIKE SOME SORT OF
BEREAVEMENT OR FELT
ENLIGHTENED?
Well, we stayed in the hotel around the
corner from the venue. Got up. Mosey down to
breakfast which I didn’t eat because I never do.
Then we walked past the Shepherds Bush Empire,
where my name had already been taken down so it
was already history, and they was an almost funny
feeling of relief, you know, 'thank Christ as I never
had to do that again,' couple with, 'Ah. I am never
going to do that again!'
We all parted at Kings Cross station, I came
back to Norfolk and before I knew it, I was in the
local pub, playing pool. It was really bizarre.
Actually I think we went to Tesco's first because we
didn’t have any milk! I cant describe it. It was just
nuts!
LOOKING BACK, HOW DID STEVE
WILLIAM'S BECOME STEVE IGNORANT .
WAS THERE ANY THING IN YOUR EARLY
YEARS THAT CHANGED YOU INTO THIS
SPOKESMAN?
Well I think obviously seeing The Clash for
the first time did it, getting that inspiration. I
thought this is it! This is what I’ve been thinking!
They were saying it and doing it. And I wanted a
bit of that and I was pretty sure I could. Of course I
had no idea but it was the same for a lot of people.
It almost felt like this is what we were all waiting
for to happen.
“It was the same with
Crass. Some people were
waiting for this outlet.”