CRUEL WORLD FESTIVAL

May 11, 2024

Brookside Park @ The Rose Bowl, Pasadena CA

Shot and Written by Fiestaban Photography

Cruel World Festival isn’t just a music festival…For many, this spooky dance music from forty years ago is synonymous with childhood, teenage-dom and clubbing throughout the 80s. It’s driving in mom’s Celica with the windows down on warm summer nights. It’s a world before cell phones and social media. It’s a world with endless possibilities, The Berlin Wall, The D.A.R.E. program and Margaret Thatcher wreaking havoc across The Pond, with nary of mention of Y2K. And for younger generations, there is something unmistakably free about this music and this era—before economic ruin, before 9/11, before streaming. With headliners like Duran Duran and Blondie, the remaining 28 bands at Cruel World were nothing short of miracles to be able to see, not only in the States, but in 2024. Seminal punk New Wave British bands like Simple Minds, Heaven 17, Tones On Tail, The Stranglers, Adam Ant, Gary Numan and The Mission U.K. set the table for L.A.’s own brand of punk and were brought to American listeners by Richard Blade (whom made an appearance for several sets) on the legendary radio station KROQ. In addition to legacy bands, newer outfits like The Zanias, Harsh Symmetry, Model/Actriz and Nuovo Testamento were on hand to showcase that same mantle being donned, with newer synth-pop tracks that stand on the shoulders of giants, yet add something fresh for the Gen Z crowd.

Wendy Bevan

Opening up Cruel World with her beautiful white electric violin and sweet PJ Harvey-sounding voice, the British ingenue Wendy Bevan is the latest new discovery for the Cruel World crowd, although Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran already did so when they released their Astronomia project series in 2021.

The Zanias

More along the lines of ethereal trip-hop with a Cranberries/Kate Bush bent, The Zanias (Alison Lewis along with Neu-Romancer Laura Bailey) evince to the rarest of music: a grandiosity wrapped in gossamer. Dedicating their song “Chrysalis” to the people of Palestine, anyone whom caught their early set immediately went to go download more.

Body of Light

Straight synths-ness in the vein of Depeche Mode or Bronski Beat (or maybe even Cut/Copy), Body Of Light (brother duo Alex and Andrew Jarson) was the first pure dance band of the Festival with tracks like “Time To Kill”, getting the crowd on its feet.

Leathers

Modern synth along the same lines of Le Roux, electro-P!nk, Twin Tribes or Glass Spells, Leathers (Shannon Hemmet) arrived with their triumphant ballad “Day For Night” and club-ready “Runaway”. Go ahead and pre-purchase their upcoming debut album Ultraviolet, out on August 16th.

Patriarchy

Transgressive, gender-fluid and completely feral, L.A.-based Patriarchy (Actually Huizenga and Andrew Means) is sex-positive punk for the cool kids, with songs like “The Man For You” and “Suffer”. Truly in a category of their own, they tore up the Sad Girl stage. Also, there may have even been a baby involved...(not mine).

ADULT.

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) are the faces of the Electroclash era of the early aughts. If you went indie-clubbing around 2001, you definitely heard “Hand To Phone” somewhere. Check out their albums and singles for sale here.

Harsh Symmetry

If you like The Cure’s Disintegration or Clan of Xymox, you’re going to love Harsh Symmetry (Julian Sharwarko). Unbridled, elegant, melancholic and utterly danceable, Harsh Symmetry is making waves among the arthouse synth-pop crowd. Check out the 2023 release of Imitation.

Model/Actriz

Something like a Gen-Z Public Image Limited, Television or Hüsker Du, with the energy of a Gogol Bordello—but far stranger—Model/Actriz is currently based in New York (originally from Boston) and didn’t waste any time diving into the Cruel World crowd with their post-punk wildness. Check out their full make-up clad fury here.

Nuovo Testamento

A dead ringer for Stacey Q, Paula Abdul or early Kylie Minogue, Nuovo Testamento (Chelsea Crowley, Andrea Mantione and Giacomo Zatti) is bringing that ‘80s pop splendor back to the people. Check out all their dance-ready bangers like “Heartbeat” or “Heat” here.

French Police

A lo-fi, Spanish-speaking, surf-riff, dream-pop outfit, French Police is attention-arresting and deserves play under the milky stars. Check out their latest release BULLY.

The Motels

Some of the greatest of the New Romantic/Rock crossover movement (à la The Cars and Blondie), The Motels (formed originally with Martha Davis in Berkeley, CA) had a string of hits including “Suddenly Last Summer”, “Only The Lonely” and “Remember The Nights”. The first of the legacy bands at Cruel World, they did not disappoint.

General Public

The leader in Second-Wave ska, Birmingham’s Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger (who passed away in 2019)—coming out of a post-1983 breakup of The English Beat—put together a supergroup with Mickey Billingham and ‘Stoker’ (of Dexy’ Midnight Runners), Mick Jones (of The Clash), and Horace Panter (of The Specials). The mega-hit “Tenderness”, as well as “Never You Done That” and “Hot You’re Cool” off 1986’s All The Rage made them legends, both in and out of the ska scene. Richard Blade was on hand to give these fellow Englishmen their propers, before GP skanked into their catalog.

The Mission UK

Straight ahead, wall-of-sound goth-punk—and, most notably, a spinoff off The Sisters Of Mercy—Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams, along with Simon Hinkler helped spawn The Mission (the band had to rename after learning about an R&B group of the same name). Asking the audience, “...Are you having a good time?”, Hussey immediately followed with, “…Well, we’ll take care of that...” before launching into “Tower Of Strength”. With singles like “Butterfly On A Wheel” and “Wasteland”, this band is highly underrated and deserves a second look by American audiences.

The Faint

Very much inhabiting the same sonic space as ADULT., The Faint bridged the gap between the New Rock Revolution of The Strokes, Interpol and The Killers with the more synth-driven punk-ier Electroclash movement. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, singer Todd Fink, along with Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle (brother of Fink), have always been on the cutting edge of synth-punk, with their fourth album Danse Macabre (2001) becoming a touchstone for indie kids across the globe.

The Stranglers

The cheeky buggers that they are, The Stranglers are one of the longest running UK punk bands, with exactly five decades of music, and over twenty three Top 40 hits in England. Originally The Guilford Stranglers, the band has seen its share of members come and go, with founding members “Jet Black” (Brian John Duffy) retiring in 2018, Hans Wärmling dying in a boating accident in 1995, and David Paul Greenfield passing away in 2020. Pre-Never Mind the Bollocks and London Calling, The Stranglers are the stuff of lore, famously touring with both The Ramones and Patti Smith and cementing their place as elder punk statesmen. And still, 50 years on, the band is still as raw as ever, playing everything from the gritty “Toiler On The Sea” to the waltzy “Golden Brown”.

Gary Numan

One of the great pioneers of electronic music (and champion of autism awareness), Gary Numan is here from outer space to reclaim Earth for the androids. Playing primarily off his Pleasure Principle and Tubeway Army albums, his black-clad brigade was here to rock n roll.

Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee

The Three Tenors, but for New Wave drummers (The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees and various other bands), Lawrence Andrew Tolhurst, Peter Edward Clarke and Garret Lee are the percussion supergroup of the 80s.

Heaven 17

A spinoff collaboration between The Human League’s Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh (whom left Heaven 17 in 2007), along with vocalist Glenn Gregory, Heaven 17 (named after a fictional band in Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange) gave us hits like “(We Don’t Need No) Fascist Groove Thing” and “Let Me Go”, but only started touring America forty years after their heyday, in 2022. With a triumphant return to Cruel World, Richard Blade was again on hand to give big love to one of his favorite bands.

Ministry

Lead by Al Jourgensen from their darkwave synthed-out With Sympathy and Twitch (both of which they usually avoid playing) to leaders in the industrial metal scene, Ministry is rough and ready and nasty as hell…in the best way. Having them perform at Cruel World was a real treat, not only for coaxing the band into playing older tunes (they played “Work For Love” for the first time in forty years), but especially because in February 2024, Jourgensen recently confirmed in an interview that Ministry will not release any more albums or continue as a band after they release a follow-up to Hopiumforthemasses (which was released in March of 2024).

The Jesus & Mary Chain

Essential listening for any budding artist, especially of the shoegaze and noise pop persuasion, The JAMC (brothers Jim and William Reid) are melody makers of another caliber, with tracks like “Just Like Honey” (made popular by Sophia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost In Translation) , “April Skies”, “Happy When It Rains”, “Head On” and “Sometimes Always”. On hiatus from 1998 until 2007 (reuniting for that year's Coachella), the band has made a comeback, releasing new music last March.

DREAMCAR

Another of Cruel World’s supergroups, DREAMCAR is Davey Havok (of AFI and Blaqk Audio) along with the non-Stefani members of No Doubt (Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young). Kicking off their set with “After I Confessed”, followed by David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream”, DREAMCAR is pure party, blending equal amounts of fun and pop that is neither AFI nor No Doubt, but something greater than the sum of its parts. Check out their latest release the Dream EP.

Adam Ant

The glamorous purveyor of ANTMUSIC, Adam Ant (Stuart Leslie Goddard) famously had his entire band stripped by Sex Pistols producer and sex-toy salesman Malcolm McLaren in 1980 in order to form Bow Wow Wow. Turning the other glittery cheek, Adam & The Ants began turning out hits in 1979, before Adam went solo (keeping guitarist Marco Pirroni, whom was originally part of Siouxsie & The Banshees’ first gig), which shot him to the top of the charts. With wildly popular hits like the Motown-esque “Goody Two Shoes”, the sumptuous “Desperate But Not Serious”, or the Phil Collins-produced “Friend Or Foe” and “Strip”, Adam Ant is up there with the best of them. We are all thankful that he made his Cruel World appearance this year, after having to cancel last year. Unparalleled, his set was a must-see for everyone there.

TR/ST

Pronounced “Trust”, TR/ST is Canadian artists Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski. Perhaps the youngest of the legacy bands that form the second half of the Cruel World lineup (they formed in 2010), TR/ST have made their mark as one of the loudest, sexiest, dance-iest bands to come out of the early 2010s. With a brand new EP now, be sure to crank this band up everywhere you go.

Simple Minds

The Glaswegian sensations that took over your radio station in 1985 and have not let up, were back at Cruel World for a very special set. Their evergreen and ubiquitous “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (actually written by disco percussionist Keith Forsey for the movie The Breakfast Club and almost passed up by the band) is a worldwide staple, but don’t forget about their other hits “Promised You A Miracle”, “Waterfront”, “Alive And Kicking”, and “Sanctify Yourself” (...in fact, as I write this, if you haven’t listened to the entirety of New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) lately, stop reading this, click over, and go put on headphones. Touring with the lovely and virtuosic Cherisse Osei on drums and original members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitarist), Simple Minds brought down the house on Cruel World as the sun set somewhere in summertime.

Soft Cell

Ok, after you’ve listened to New Gold Dream, undoubtedly, you need to also listen to Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret again. You’ve obviously heard “Tainted Love” a zillion times, but you may have forgotten “Bedsitter”, “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”, “Torch”, “Memorabilia”, “Chips On My Shoulder” or the R-rated classic “Sex Dwarf”. Or maybe you’ve forgotten some of Marc Almond’s solo work, like “Ruby Red” or “Tears Run Rings”? Whatever your age, ethnicity or sexual orientation, Soft Cell has something that will remind you of the good times and make you feel like pulling out your whips and chains.

Placebo

Nobody rocks like those beautiful Luxembourg-raised Londoners, Placebo. Steering clear of the late ‘90s SoCal alt-rock scene and adopting a more queer-positive approach to Brit-Pop (à la Sonic Youth and Depeche Mode), Placebo (Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdale) have worked with everyone from Michael Stipe to David Bowie and even dared to cover the queen herself: Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”. Besides feuding with Fred Durst and the Italian government, or ruining one boy’s childhood, Placebo has plenty to be proud of, including dozens of awards and one of the best alternative rock songs ever penned.

Interpol

The absolutely kings of the early aughts New Rock Revolution (with the release of 2002’s Turn On The Bright Lights and 2004’s Antics), Interpol’s post-punk beats, mathematically precise melodies, Smiths-esque loping basslines and wiry guitars made for one of the best live bands in the world.

Blondie & Duran Duran

(not photographed)

Seminal and iconic, Debbie Harry and the boys of Duran Duran gave the performance of a lifetime, with Blondie opening with a rousing version of “Call Me” and “One Way Or Another” and “Hanging On The Telephone”, plus their 1999 hit “Maria”. Duran Duran on the other hand, began with their treacly and sensual “The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)”, pan-flute and all, continuing with their hits parade, “The Wild Boys”, “Hungry Like The Wolf”, the 1985 James Bond theme “A View To A Kill”, “Planet Earth” , “Ordinary World” (which they dedicated to the people of Palestine, Israel and Ukraine), and “Notorious”, closing their set with a mashup of “Girls On Film” with The Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”, with encore performances of “Save A Prayer” and the multi-platinum “Rio”. The lads (Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor) were back in Pasadena for a tour de force that left everyone feeling like two of a billion stars.

Tones On Tail

Quite possibly the most exciting event of Cruel World was the first-ever reunion of Tones On Tail, with former Bauhaus members Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins, joined by Haskin’s daughter Diva Dompé. Calling it “doom jazz”, TOT is something that can only be heard to explain. To even call their version of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” a ‘cover’ is to miss the shimmer, decadence and lushness that Ash imbues into his rendition. With only one album released 1984 (in fact, the B-side-turned hit “Go!” was released 40 years ago to the date), the power of Cruel World to bring back what has been lost is…well…not lost on anyone.

Thanks to everyone who helped put this amazing festival together including Ashley Osborn, Blair Brown, Alden Bonecutter, Andy Boyle, Daniela Hunt an Kirby Gladstein!