About this Event

Formed in 1980 .Anti Nowhere league managed to get a slot in The Exploited's Apocalypse tour, along with Chron Gen and Anti Pasti. This led to them signing to John Curd's record label WXYZ, with Curd and Chris Gabrin co-managing the band.

Later that year, after reportedly bribing drummer Rat Scabies in the toilet of an East End pub, they also opened for The Damned on a short tour round the north of England and Scotland. November 1981 saw the release of their first single, a cover version of Ralph McTell's "Streets of London". The profanity-laden B-side of the single, "So What" later became the group's anthem. Copies of this single were seized by the Metropolitan Police's Obscene Publication Squad shortly after release, and the seized copies were reportedly destroyed. The event was reported in the music press at the time. ("So What?" was famously covered by thrash metal band Metallica, being released as a B-side to the "Sad But True" single and later included on the Garage Inc. album; "So What?" would go on to become an in-concert standard for Metallica.)

In 1982, ANL took part in the 'So What Tour' alongside groups such as Chelsea, Chron Gen and The Defects. This year saw the release of a debut album called We Are...The League. Also in 1981 the band joined the Apocalypse Punk Tour, with Discharge, The Exploited, Anti Pasti and Chron Gen. Many stories circulated around the time of these tours about the behaviour and attitude of the ANL. Many of such stories are now believed to have been publicity-related fictions. An example of the kind of story of the day is that the ANL were banned from TV and radio in the UK. Whilst this has never been verified, regular invitations to appear on mainstream media were not plentiful in the time following the seizure of the first single. In 1982, another story circulated that the band was invited to, and then removed from, the Top Of The Pops studio supposedly because Animal was carrying a 3-foot-long (0.91 m) axe around with him[citation needed]. Whilst this too remains unverified, it is public record that Animal did usually appear on stage with such an axe. The year finished with the 'Hardcore Storms America' tour with the UK Subs.

In 1983 The band went to Yugoslavia to record a live album, called Live In Yugoslavia, but this was dogged by problems with the authorities insisting that references that Animal had made about the recently deceased president Josip Broz Tito be removed from the master tapes, and any language which they deemed to be offensive be bleeped.

By 1984 PJ got fired, unable to cope with the pressures of the drugs and alcohol lifestyle the band were now leading, and they became musically inactive. 1985 saw Michael Bettell join on drums, followed in 1986 by JB (Jonathan Birch). During this time they signed for GWR Records, and recorded the The Perfect Crime album. However, once again there were problems. GWR refused to put up the money to finish the album once they heard its rough cut, and it was released unfinished to try to get back some of the money already invested.

This was the final straw, and in 1987 ANWL disbanded. However, there was a belated 'farewell' show at the Victoria Hall in Tunbridge Wells, in 1989, which was recorded and can be heard on their live album Live Animals.

In 1992, Animal was told by JB, that Metallica wanted him to guest at Wembley Arena, when they did their cover version of "So What".

1993–1995 was spent playing gigs in the small venues the band had started out in. In 1996, they signed up with Impact Records and recorded their next EP Pig Iron. Beef also joined the band after Mark's departure.

1997 saw another personnel change when Winston left the band to be replaced by Jon Jon (JJ Kaos), and the recording of the album Scum.

2002–present

Jon Jon (JJ Kaos), Beef and Danny all left, to be replaced by PJ (original drummer), Jez on guitar, and Shady on bass. This line-up released the band's fifth studio album, Kings and Queens in 2005, which was released on the Captain Oi! record label.

In 2006, the band set up their own independent record label, Nowhere Records – with Pig Iron - The Album being the first release in August 2006. The album includes the two songs omitted from the Kings and Queens album as well as "Landlord", taken from the Out Of Control album.

In 2006, Anti-Nowhere League undertook a 29-date UK tour, and PJ left the band after the Glasgow gig in October 2006. His replacement is Dave Hazlewood (Nato), also from Tunbridge Wells, who has filled in before on tours or dates with the League. On November 8, 2006, the ANWL began a three week tour of Australia and New Zealand. On 26 October, the band joined punk rock stalwarts Angelic Upstarts, Sham 69 and The Damned for the Academy in the UK 2006: 30th Anniversary of Punk gig at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

The Anti-Nowhere League supported Rancid at their Leeds & Sheffield gigs on 7 & 8 November 2008. The League continued to tour and record, and now promote their new songs with videos.

After a mini European tour in late spring 2009, they embarked on an American tour in June/July 2009 before departing back to star in the infamous Punk Rebellion festival in Blackpool.

After touring Germany and Holland in early May 2010, the band and Johhny Skullknuckles parted company and Tom Hunt (another Tunbridge Wells native who had previously been a member of the bands road crew, and filled in with the band on occasion) was drafted in on guitar.

The band completed the rest of 2010s tour dates culminating with a special 30th anniversary christmas show.

2011 saw the release of brand new single “This is war”....and toured as special guests to MOTORHEAD on the bands winter uk tour !

In 2012 the band were invited to play Download festival for the 1st time , this was followed with various other festival appearances and ended the year on a high with shows w/RANCID.