The Chameleons
1865, Southampton
13th November 2025

Pete Harvey finds The Chameleons on top form, presenting Arctic Moon to a devoted legion of fans in a buzzing Southampton venue.

Taking to the stage to an instrumental Monkeyland (replete with the spooky sound of those plastic tubes that whistle when you whirl them in the air), Chameleons slammed into Where are You? from the new album, a soon to be rock classic in the She Sells Sanctuary vein and guaranteed to bring a room to life.

Second up is The Fan and the Bellows, which Rob Kerford (Sonic PR) told me was originally intended to be their first single. The implication was that if they had gone with it instead of In Shreds they might have reached a wider audience. I tried this theory on several Chameleon’s fans, and they were not having it for a minute.

“I’m searching for the now, I’m looking for the real thing, yeah” sang Mark ‘Vox’ Burgess, before pasting lyrics from White Riot, Transmission and Get Back over one of his own songs. Twelve hours later, and I’ve just worked out that the first line was from The Fall’s brilliant Rebellious Jukebox (1979).

Vox didn’t just do this once. He does it at every show, weaving in lines from The Smiths, The Beatles, The Clash, seemingly whoever fits the moment. Is he deliberately “showing the workings”? After the gig, I asked guitarist Reg Smithies about the technique, and he admitted he wasn’t sure why Vox does it. Could it be a nod to shared influences? Perhaps a reminder that so much pop and rock flows from the same handful of chord patterns? Reg couldn’t pin it down, and maybe that’s part of the appeal.

Vox was born in Manchester in 1960, three years after Mark E. Smith and four before Ian Curtis, 20 miles away in Macclesfield. The Chameleons never achieved the same level of critical success or cultural impact as Joy Division or The Fall. Their influence took the form of a cult following that inspired countless bands without breaking into the mainstream conversation.

Listening to Chameleons one hears traces of other bands. I think that songs written by singing bass players have a tendency to have a pulsing quality to them. This is because it’s so hard to play complex basslines and sing at the same time. These basslines, along with Danny Ashberry’s synth washes, brought Kilimanjaro-era Teardrops to mind. At other times, the dark chorused guitars evoked Killing Joke. U2 and the Psychedelic Furs are lurking in the sound too. Ultimately, what I’m describing are the essential tropes of the best post-punk bands, and the Chameleons have them all.

Half of the set is drawn from the first three albums, and the rest features new material. In simple terms, the set traces the arc of the Chameleons’ career. They released three definitive albums between 1983 and 1986, then split in 1987. After a 13-year hiatus, they reformed in 2000. The Arctic Moon set includes none of the material they produced at the turn of the century.

The quality of what the Chameleons are producing in 2025 renders the interim material irrelevant. The current band was formed in 2021 and comprises (original members) Vox (vocals, bass) and Reg Smithies (guitar) with Stephen Rice (guitars), Todd Demma (drums) and Danny Ashberry (keyboards, bass). 

The songs from Arctic Moon stand comfortably alongside the fan favourites of the ’80s. Largely due to Smithies’ signature guitar sound, which literally space-echoes from the past and provides a sense of continuity. In his LTW review Robert Plummer said, “Arctic Moon has a good claim to be Chameleons’ best album yet: it has breadth, maturity, sophistication and not a single weak track”. The evidence was delivered live in Southampton.

The set closes with Feels Like the End of the World, a commentary on the dark days we’re living through. “All of us can read the signs of the sky and the earth, how is it that we can’t read the signs of the times?” Vox encourages the audience to get out and live their lives and rails against the right wing.

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Don’t miss the chance to witness this important band while you can; the tour continues until February

All words Pete Harvey More writing by Pete on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive

Main photo by Mick Peek – Live Photos by Hels Millington