Radical performance poet and songwriter Attila the Stockbroker started as a punk bass player in 1977, took his inimitable stage name in 1980 during a short stint as a stockbroker’s clerk (they hated him, he hated them) and did his first gig as Attila at Bush Fair Playbarn in Harlow on 8 Sept 1980 supporting The De-Fex, The Condemmed (yes, 2 ‘m’s) and The Unborn Dead. He still has the poster!
Since then he’s done about 2,700 more in 24 countries and published 6 books of poems and over 20 CDs/LPs. And he’s even more fired up now than when he first started!

He’ll make you roar with laughter and seethe with anger as he chronicles the last 30 years via the huge amount of material he’s written from then to now, personal, local, national and international – from the Falklands War and the Miners’ Strike to the fall of the Berlin Wall and Thatcher, the rise of the European Far Right, the war in Iraq and his tribute to his late mother who died in June after a 6 year battle with Alzheimers. Interspersed, as ever, with some silly and occasionally very rude bits about dead cats and dirty sleeping bags.
If you have a favourite Attila poem or song, he’s taking requests too – he’s earned a living as a poet for 30 years and he wants you to join in the celebration!
‘Whether he’s ranting a poem or bashing out a song, there’s something majestic about Attila in full flight’ (Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 4)

AND EVERYONE LEFT VERY VERY VERY HAPPY!!!

THANKS GUNSLINGERS, WE SALUTE YOU ALL!!!
(all photos by WASI DANIJU)

The asteroid’s orbit has been fairly well known thanks to 290 visual observations and 13 measurements using radar, say scientists.
The chances of the asteroid hitting BANG SAID THE GUN are one-in-a-thousand but in cosmic terms these odds are high enough for the threat to be taken extremely seriously.
UK crater expert and poet Daniel Cockrill, said: “Calculations suggest this asteroid would produce a crater less than 10km wide and 500m deep – but landing on the BANG venue is obviously bad news.

“If it hit the ocean it could create a tsunami with the power to wipe out coastal towns.
“It would be nothing on the scale of the impact that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, but you wouldn’t want it to wipe out one the most exciting poetry events around.”
Would you?
Shiiiitttt!!! – gunslingers… run for your lives!

David Cameron: “I think we’re onto a really big idea, a really exciting future for our country.”
David Cameron has launched his “big BANG SAID THE GUN poetry” drive to empower communities, describing it as his “great passion”.
In a speech at the Roebuck, the home of BANG SAID THE GUN, the prime minister said poets should be able to run post offices, libraries, transport services and shape housing projects.
Also announcing plans to use dormant bank accounts to fund projects, Mr Cameron said the concept would be a “big advance for poetry power”.
While reducing the budget deficit was his “duty”, he said giving poets more control over their destinies was what excited him and was something that had underpinned his philosophy since he became a Toff as a little boy.
“There are the things you do because it’s your passion,” he said.
“Things that fire you up in the morning, that drive you, that you truly believe will make a real difference to the country you love, and my great passion is building the big BANG SAID THE GUN society… Poetry power dudes!’
The prime minister said poetry communities would be established all over the UK – to help poets “turn government completely on its head”.
Mr Cameron confirmed plans to use funds stuck in dormant bank and building society accounts to enable “some of the most dynamic spoken word artists to take over the running of public services.” Daniel Cockrill decided he might drive the number 38 night bus, Martin Galton wants to work in a library and change the filing system to one that he understands and Rob Auton fancies playing fetch in the park with the local stray dogs.
Everyone is aware of the “great work” BANG SAID THE GUN are already doing at the Roebuck he said, and it was his ambition to simply expand on this.
The BANG SAID THE GUN team argue that “The ‘big BANG SAID THE GUN poetry society’ isn’t David Cameron’s Big Idea anyway. His aides say it is about empowering communities, redistributing power and fostering a culture of volunteerism, but we at BANG have been doing this for years, never paying any of the acts but always putting on a brilliant show. But now that our toff nosed friend David has raided Bank accounts and thrown us loads of dosh, the audience can now experience top names like LUKE WRIGHT, JOHN HEGLEY and IAN McMILLAN. This Big Bang society is going to be wicked!!!” Come Join in the fun this Thursday… Luke Wright + Jammie Sammy feature with DAVID CAMERON taking part in the GOLDEN GUN open mic. Nice one Dave!

Cameron – what a toff!!!!

Win your own GOLDEN GUN this Thursday and share the stage with the mighty LUKE WRIGHT… full details HERE.