You could throw a 747 in Hong Kong and you probably wouldn’t hit an Oi! band. The Oi! Squad (motto: “Work, Drink and Smoke”) might qualify, but good luck finding any more. What is it about a financially-oriented, morally-conservative metropolis that doesn’t breed working class punk rebellion? Perhaps someone ought to start removing the cushions from the Discovery Bay ferry. That’ll get the bastards going.

Meanwhile, in Germany, there is such thing as a punk scene. The Krauts are famous for that shit. But then, they’ve got democracy and cold weather – of course someone’s going to get angry. There, festivals such as Punk & Disorderly, Force Attack, and Endless Summer keep the Mohawks taut and the safety-pins lobe-bound.

The arrival of Hanover’s Combat 77 – a five-piece with a Sleater-Kinney-like female lead vocalist and appropriately gruff contingent of male oi!-ers in back-up – will inject some of that punk serum into our anemic scene. But the quintet, on their first China tour, sound suspiciously amicable. “A China tour will be very interesting for us because of new and different cultural experiences, to reach a new audience, and also for the taste of various alcoholic drinks,” writes drummer Björn by email. Just wait until they find out there’s no Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. So much for an education in the intricacies of the oi.

Hamish McKenzie