RIP Colin Jerwood - SE London punk legend

Colin Jerwood, lead singer with South London anarcho-punk band Conflict, has died.  At their 1980s peak they were very influential in the punk scene and famously once played a huge gig at Brixton Academy in 1987 ('The gathering of the 5000') which ended with 52 arrests and fighting with the police in the streets outside.

I believe that Colin was born in 1962 in Nettleton Road in New Cross, but was living in the Coldharbour Estate in  Eltham in the early days of the band and as an anarchist punk having to deal with violent racist skinheads. The band played out across South London and beyond - I saw them in mid-1980s at Thames Poly and at the Old Kent Road ambulance station squat - and put on a regular punk night in the crypt of St Pauls Church in Deptford. Later in the 1980s Colin was involved with putting on acid house parties at the Harp Club in New Cross, and in 1994 at the same location (now called the Venue) recorded their live album 'Conflict in the Venue'. Through their Mortarhate record label they put out stuff by other punk bands including New Cross favourites Hagar the Womb.

Conflict announce the start of 'The Centre' on Mondays at St Pauls Church SE8 (think this must have been late 1985/early 1986)

1986 gig at the Crypt with Potential Threat, Unknown Colours, Mentacide and Under the Gun

Colin played one of his last gigs with Conflict at the New Cross Inn in November 2024

According to Mark Wallis from Liberty (another SE London anarcho-punk band) "In the early days, Colin was an anarchist living on an estate in Eltham [the estate] with John and Paco, surrounded by NF skinheads