For the first time in the State: Steve Ignorant Band (performing the Crass repertoire)

• Steve Ignorant was the lead singer of Crass, an iconic band in the UK punk movement.
• Active from 1977 to 1984, they were pioneers of the DIY (do it yourself) ethic and forerunners of what came to be known as anarcho-punk.
• On May 3rd, Steve Ignorant will perform in Spanish State for the first time, bringing Crass’s music to life on stage with his band.

Crass was formed in 1977 in a libertarian commune in the English countryside, when Penny Rimbaud, a 33-year-old writer and artist, met 18-year-old Steve Ignorant, who had been blown away after seeing a Clash concert. But what they created together had little in common with Strummer’s band.

Over the next seven years, starting with their debut single, the group stirred up controversy, faced legal persecution, and had their activities closely monitored by the authorities. All nine members lived together and developed a strong ethic and working method that would shape the course of the punk movement.

They founded their own label, Crass Records, to release their music, and launched a second one, Corpus Christi, to support other bands. They donated most of their income to organizations like Greenpeace and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), performed in support of the most hard-fought strikes during the Thatcher era, and, just as suddenly as they’d appeared, they vanished in 1984, unable to exist under Orwell’s prophecy.

Now, on May 3rd, Steve Ignorant, the youngest member of Crass, still going strong at 68, will perform in Spain for the very first time. In a historic show, joined by the brilliant Steve Ignorant Band, he’ll revisit the legendary Crass catalogue, without which punk would not be what it is today.

Steve Ignorant never stepped away from the stage. After Crass, he joined Conflict, another cornerstone of UK punk, and later founded bands like Schwartzeneggar and Slice of Life, with whom he’s still active, and some of whose members now join him in this new chapter.

The Steve Ignorant Band will be joined by Catalan acts Rotura and Nafra, two groups that, decades later, carry forward the spirit and philosophy of the explosive Crass legacy.

The concert will take place at Sala Salamandra in L’Hospitalet, and advance tickets are available through Codetickets, as well as at El Lokal and Mai Morirem in Barcelona.