Perhaps the “ugly sister” of Brighton or the “naughty brother” of Eastbourne, buzzy punk rock bands are increasingly bursting out of Hastings, while many others are relocating there. To find out why, we meet Kid Kapichi, HotWax, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Karen Dió and local radio DJ Andy Gunton to go inside the magic of the town’s music scene, its punk attitude, and the need for a community hub to reach the next level…
Largely thanks to a certain skirmish won by Duke William of Normandy in 1066, the coastal town of Hastings is permanently ingrained in British history. Nearly one full millennium later, the south-coast seaside resort is writing a new chapter in its story – centred around a burgeoning punk rock movement that looks poised to go from strength to strength.
One of the bands spearheading the scene are Kid Kapichi, who graced the cover of K! just over a year ago. Having headlined London’s 2,300-capacity O2 Forum Kentish Town and released three killer albums, their tireless graft has knocked down the door for fellow Hastings bands to kick and scratch their way into the UK rock mainstream.
“Not to sound egotistical, but I genuinely believe we created a pathway,” says frontman Jack Wilson. “I don't think by any stretch of the imagination that we're the best musicians in Hastings, but we were one of the first to break out and be successful outside of Hastings.”
And there are a bunch of bands following in their wake. Remember Maid Of Ace, who opened Green Day’s Saviors stadium tour last summer? Straight out of Hastings. Jack also suggests Our Sister and Borough Council as just two names to keep an eye on.
One act already breaking away from the East Sussex tourist hotspot are raucous alt.rock upstarts HotWax, coming off the back of last month’s fiery debut Hot Shock.
“We started gigging in Hastings [in other bands] when we were 12 years old, at all the £1 underage band nights they used to have at Brass Monkey,” recalls vocalist/guitarist Tallulah Sim-Savage. “Growing up here was really, really important to where we are now. Everyone would help each other out when we were wanting to record our first EP and do music videos. The community was – and is – really good.”
Community is the exact word that springs to Jack’s mind, too.
“Hastings crowds are very accepting – I don't think it takes much to win people over,” he says. “It’s really organic, how people are just there to have a good time regardless.”
In Kapichi’s early days, they would hire out 50-seater coaches to quite literally “bring Hastings with them” – in spirit and numbers – to gigs in London and Brighton. “It was absolutely mental. We owe a lot to the Hastings crowds for holding our hands and doing that with us.”
Increasingly, more and more people are wanting a slice of this Hastings pie – resulting in an influx of creative people relocating to the town. Nova Twins are “more or less” based there now, local radio DJ Andy Gunton tells us. Grian Chatten, frontman of post-punk titans Fontaines D.C., briefly lived there a few years ago. Brazilian-born punk noisenik Karen Dió now also resides in the area, having moved with her husband – Dinosaur Pile-Up frontman Matt Bigland.
“I grew up in front of the beach!” beams Karen, comparing her Santos upbringing to her new home on the English seaside (via São Paulo and London). “For a DIY-type artist, it’s a great place to start. We have producers – my mastering engineer is here. I do my merch in The Open Press. It’s more affordable [than London]. I feel the sense of community, because you have a lot of people consuming music.”
Having fronted Dinosaur Pile-Up out of Leeds and then London, Matt reveals that the south coast may indeed become their new base, as they prepare to follow up their superb 2019 album Celebrity Mansions.
“We might also start rehearsing here. I love living here… the fact that there is a scene here, but there's also an element of anonymity – loads of creative people living here, doing their own thing. It's nice to feel strongly grounded to a place.”
Inevitably, as more people catch onto the appeal of Hastings, house prices have started to rise, and the onslaught of gentrification has turned grassroots venues into fancy restaurants and cocktail bars. Despite the appetite for music and undeniable talent, a lack of infrastructure may be holding the music scene back from hitting another level.
Andy, who has DJed at community station Hastings Rock for nearly three decades (including eight years as chairman), has seen it all.
“We've lost very influential venues. You mention Kid Kapichi – I used to drive them around at one point, I was the first person to play them on the radio. They used to play a place called The Tubman, where all of the bands were able to play their first ever gig – the space enabled them to do that.”
“St Mary in the Castle shut down over lockdown,” adds HotWax bassist Lola. “Everyone realised that Hastings is quite near London, but on the seafront… people have been priced out of their homes. The old town used to be where the music was. There’s a [newer] place in St Leonards called The Piper, but that was never there before.”
Of course, the challenges facing independent venues are not specific to Hastings. Nonetheless, newly-opened venues like Southampton’s Papillon and Manchester’s The Rat & Pigeon continue to prove that the power of community hubs can overpower the doom and gloom – and a space like this could be pivotal for Hastings.
“You can rehearse, record an album, make music videos all in Hastings… but we don't have any 400-600 capacity venues,” sighs Jack. “Until that changes, it's always going to be difficult to get Hastings on the primary or secondary touring circuit.”
Matt points to his time in the Leeds scene, where the Brudenell Social Club and (soon to be relocated) hardcore hub Boom currently act as these material epicentres.
“Hastings has got all of the artists, but nowhere for them to join up. It's nice to have a place to congregate, where more established bands can hang out with the bands cutting their teeth. If I could ever help create something like that, I'd love to.”
While venues may come and go, the ever-present underbelly of the Hastings scene is the town's punk spirit.
“If you distill down what the word ‘punk’ is – and you forget about it as a sound, but rather an ethos – Hastings is that,” begins Jack. “It's the ugly sister of Brighton, or naughty brother of Eastbourne.
“It's this rough-and-ready seaside town where we have a bit of a ‘fuck you’ attitude. Come and get involved and join in, but don't tell us how to do it.”
Andy agrees. “Millwall Football Club has a chant that says, ‘No-one likes us, we don't care’ – and I always say that about Hastings. There is a rebellious streak within the people… because you can be different here, and no-one really cares about what you look like or how you act. Everyone accepts [you], because that's just the vibe of the place.”
Whether it’s the annual fancy dress extravaganza of Pirate Day or the posters that dominate the walls of famed rock pub The Carlisle, that innate link between Hastings and punk feels like an unbreakable bond – much like the town’s undying appetite for creativity and music. With those key ingredients and some added infrastructure, the sky's the limit for Hastings.
“Hastings has somehow managed to cling on to that [special something],” concludes Jack. “It's a great place to be creative. It’s that way of life that we have in Hastings, which is fiercely clinging on to that art – and keeping the art first.”
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