Library Rock's Backpages

The Enemy: Brixton Academy, London

Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 14 April 2009

ANYONE WHO THINKS "the kids" are an apathetic lot who would rather vegetate in front of their Xboxes than start a revolution should see the Enemy. If any young British guitar band embody the insurrectionary spirit of the Clash, it's this Coventry trio. They have little in common with their noughties peers. Singer/guitarist Tom Clarke, who's barely in his 20s, writes couplets such as: "No such thing as a free meal, and there ain't no future in British Steel/ Nobody gives you anything for free unless you start sleeping with the BBC." These days, words like that are practically revolutionary in themselves.

Total word count of piece: 408

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.