Brutal, brilliant Carter gets the Pistols firing

THESE were big shoes to fill. Frank Carter said it himself as he opened the first of his three nights performing with the Sex Pistols - but he filled them, and then some.

- Samantha Herbert

Wild-eyed, roaring, frothing with anarchic energy, Carter promised "absolute f***ing chaos" from this show, and that's exactly what was served. Careering through Never Mind the Bollocks in its entirety, Carter and three of the original Pistols members (Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock) led the crowd through a night of unadulterated punk rock mayhem at Bush Hall.

Having grown up with this as his local venue, drummer Cook was the architect behind last night's show after a financial black hole put the London institution at risk of having to end live music.