Ruts D.C.

Divergent Venues presents by arrangement with AGMP

The Ruts '50 Years of Ruts music 1977-2027'

22/10/2027
The 1865

The Ruts '50 Years of Ruts music 1977-2027'

In 1977, The Ruts emerged from London with a sound unlike anybody else around them - the raw urgency of punk colliding with reggae, dub and rock, driven by formidable musicianship and a fierce sense of purpose.

With Malcolm Owen, Paul Fox, Dave Ruffy and Segs Jennings, The Ruts created a body of music whose power has endured far beyond its original moment.

The Singles

In A Rut. Babylon’s Burning. Something That I Said. Jah War. Staring At The Rude Boys. West One (Shine On Me).

The Album: The Crack

One of the defining British punk albums of its era: urgent, inventive, politically aware and musically fearless. These songs became part of the fabric of British punk -- and a sound that refused to stay within punk’s boundaries.

After losing Malcolm Owen in 1980, the remaining members chose integrity over nostalgia by re-inventing themselves as Ruts DC, eventually losing the legend that was Paul Fox in 2007.

But the story does not end there.

Ruts DC remain a living, evolving band to this day. But the time has come to celebrate the whole story…

RUTS DC present: 50 YEARS OF RUTS MUSIC - 1977-2027

These shows are about taking the music that exploded out of a movement and bringing it onto a stage in 2027 with all its urgency and relevance intact.

Music made across five decades — from The Crack and Grin & Bear It, through Animal Now, Rhythm Collision, Music Must Destroy, and Counterculture?

“This ain’t no nostalgia trip, it’s a celebration”

The anniversary shows will embrace the entire history while putting Ruts music where it belongs: at the heart of it all.

The songs. The attitude. The energy. The Punk. Performed by the people that were there, ably abetted by Ruts DC guitarist of 14 years — Leigh Heggarty.

Honouring the legacy — while doing what Ruts DC have always done: bringing it into the now.

Not a reunion. Not a recreation. Not a tribute band.

A celebration of fifty years of music, friendship, resilience and creative evolution — played in the present tense.