The Rolling Stones were denied playing in China until the early 21st century because the Chinese Ministry of Culture feared they would cause “cultural pollution”.
Even in 2015, the authorities are still paranoid, as The Boys discovered in January when they arrived in China and found that the tour there to promote their Punk Rock Menopause album had been cancelled due to “security issues” (the tour poster, depicting blood spurting from between a manga girl’s legs, didn’t help).
Thanks to resourceful locals, The Boys still got to play three secret shows in former underground bomb shelters in Shanghai, promoted by word of mouth.
The performance on one of those nights, in a bunker which doubled as a studio complex, is captured here, as the venerable punk survivors – still fronted by Matt Dangerfield, Honest John Plain and Casino Steel – court real danger, steaming through their recent material and anthems such as Sick On You and Brickfield Nights with defiant gusto.
Classic Rock 215: New Albums A-G
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