CONVICT CLASS: NOT THE ENEMY, BUT PUNK LEGENDS. STEN GUN CHATS WITH MARK J.

Interview by Mark J. 

Formed in October 2021 in Warrnambool on Victoria's Great Ocean Road, Convict Class have spent the intervening years doing things the hard way and proving it's the only way worth doing. Sten Gun (vocals), Benno (guitar), Shane (bass) and Al (drums) — four working-class lads from regional Victoria who set out to channel the fury and urgency of the original British punk movement and have, improbably and genuinely, done exactly that. 

A 2022 demo and a run of singles built a word-of-mouth foundation before the Conspiracy Theory EP tightened the screws further. Their debut full-length Generation of Discontent — recorded with Jason Fuller at Melbourne's Goatsound — arrived in 2024 to serious recognition within the scene: twelve tracks of Oi!-tinged streetpunk with the raucous, non-clinical production it deserved and lyrics sharp enough to draw blood. Self-released, it shifted 200 copies on vinyl and roughly 400 on CD, with overseas demand outpacing their ability to fulfil it. 

Then came Rebellion. Playing the Winter Gardens Arena Stage to a packed room on their first-ever overseas appearance, Convict Class packed out the capacity 1000-person space, converting a festival floor full of lifers and sceptics into believers on the spot. Dick Slaughter of In Spite Magazine in the US put it plainly: "In a world that feels sanitised and commercialised, Convict Class is a reminder of what punk was always meant to be: raw, unfiltered, funny, and unapologetic." 

Off the back of that trip, they signed with Diana's Randale Records — home to Cock Sparrer, Last Resort, Tear Up and Evil Conduct — and returned to Goatsound to record Not the Enemy, their second album and their clearest statement yet. A nine-date UK tour is planned for July/August 2026, culminating in a return to Rebellion Festival, 6–9 August, Winter Gardens, Blackpool — the 30th anniversary edition and, as it happens, the 50th anniversary of UK punk. The timing isn't accidental.

I caught up with Sten Gun to talk about the new record, the Rebellion experience, and what it actually means to build something real from a regional area to world domination.

1. "Not the Enemy" has been in your live set for a long time before the album. What's the track actually about, and did naming the album after it feel like the obvious call or did there need to be a conversation about it?

We rolled "Not the Enemy" out nearly 12 months to the day. It was first played live at Vinnies Dive Bar on the Gold Coast and has featured in our last 13 set lists. It's been a popular song when we have played it live, with people singing along to the chorus. It's turned into a bit of an anthem.

We had two names we could have gone with in the end — "Not the Enemy" and "No Mess, No Fuss, Just Maximum Impact". We went with "Not the Enemy" because it means a lot to us and the punk scene. Essentially it's a song that has been around for four years and never felt quite right, so when we returned from the UK in 2024 it was the first thing we did — made it right. It's about everyone in the scene not feeling alone or different, and that they are a part of a big family.

2. Generation of Discontent was recorded with Jason Fuller at Goatsound, and the production was very deliberately non-clinical — raucous, in your face, everything intact. Did you go back to Goatsound for this record, and how much of that approach was conscious discipline going in versus something that came out of the room?

We did go again with Jason at Goatsound. He gets us and is amazing to work with. He's also become our producer as well as sound engineer and friend. It was recorded exactly the same way as Generation of Discontent, but this time we had the benefit of listening to the people who follow and support us. We took on board the feedback, and now you have Not the Enemy. We believe we've also individually improved at our craft in the last two years. It's always been about what we like and what we hope our fans will like. This time we believe we have a more rounded and bigger-sounding album that people will resonate with and love.

3. Randale is carrying a lineage that goes back to the original British punk and Oi! movement. Does being on that label change how you think about what Convict Class is doing in relation to that history, or is it more about distribution and reach?

We are so proud to be part of the Randale Records family and the amazing roster of bands that work with Diana's label. It's actually quite humbling to think that we are with the label that has brought you bands like Cock Sparrer, Last Resort, Tear Up, Evil Conduct, Lions Law and Australia's Rust and Shandy, to name a few. I met Diana at Rebellion festival in 2024 and she mentioned that after summer we need to talk. I'd already been speaking with her about collaborating, so on our return it was straight to work on the new album.

This collaboration isn't about money or aligning our sound with our fellow stable-mates — it's about distribution and having someone like Diana having our back. Diana is a wonderful human and she always has her bands' best interests at heart. She attends so many European festivals selling all her bands' music and merch whilst owning and running a successful pub and record label. It is a match made in heaven.

Generation of Discontent was self-released and we sold 200 copies on vinyl and approximately 400 on CD. The issue we had was overseas interest — it cost more to send it than it cost to buy it. We will have 100 copies of Not the Enemy available on vinyl to sell in Australia and Diana will have the rest of the world covered.

4. Between the debut and Not the Enemy, you played Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. That's a very specific kind of audience — people who've been in this scene for decades and have extremely well-calibrated bullshit detectors. What was that experience, and what did you take from it? And how pumped are you for a return stint?

We took loads from that experience. In my opinion it's the pinnacle of the punk scene to play Rebellion Festival. I've got to admit we were shitting ourselves — it was our first time overseas playing to new crowds, and still a very new band. The punters came and loved everything about us. We packed out the Arena Stage on our first ever time playing Rebellion. People from all over the world said the same things: "We can tell that you love what you do," "You boys are genuine," "We love your old school sound and passion."

To quote Dick Slaughter of In Spite Magazine in America, who saw us at Rebellion: "In a world that feels sanitised and commercialised, Convict Class is a reminder of what punk was always meant to be: Raw, Unfiltered, Funny and Unapologetic." We thought that pretty much summed up what people were saying.

On return from Rebellion we were asked back in 2025, which financially we couldn't commit to. We said we would return in 2026 — which happens to be the 30th anniversary of Rebellion and the 50th anniversary of punk in the UK. We read so many positive comments online after the UK in 2024 where people were saying we were their favourite act of the festival. Pretty fucking cool hey.

We are just knock-about lads from country Australia that love to have a good time and don't put on a façade — it's the Aussie way.

5. Warrnambool is regional Victoria, and the band operates mostly outside the Melbourne scene's infrastructure. Has being based out there shaped how you've had to build things, and do you think it's affected the music itself?

I'd like to say it's been hard because of the cost and not being a "Melbourne" band, and go on about all the negatives. The reality is we wouldn't change a thing — we've loved every minute of it. For all the travel involved to play and the costs that come with that, it's been worth every minute and cent when you see punters singing along to your music. It has shaped us. We take nothing for granted and play every set like it's our last.

6. The lyrical targets in your songs are very specifically identified — never vague. Scammers, conspiracy theorists, the monarchy, the media. Is that precision a conscious discipline, or is it just the only way you know how to write?

It's just the way we write. We don't want to be one of those bands that just writes the same shit as the bands before them. I always write from lived experiences and what pisses me off — I find that easy. My humour also flows through some of our songs. Like the new one called "Only Fans" — it came about after returning from Rebellion and being asked to play again in 2025. I jokingly mentioned to the lads at practice that if we commit to 2025 I'll have to start up an Only Fans page. I got home after practice and, after hours of "research," decided to write a song about what I'd need to do to begin my venture into adult entertainment. Ha.

7. "Fuck caviar, we eat pub grub" is a line that does a lot of work very efficiently. Do you think explicitly about class as a framework for what Convict Class is doing, or is it more that you're just writing from where you actually live?

It's more about writing from what we are and know. I grew up in a mining town in outback Australia. The unions were born in Broken Hill and still to this day it's a union stronghold. It was working class with the everyday ethos of work hard and play hard, and that's what we did. I think that's why I resonated with the UK punk movement of the late '70s and early '80s. Broken Hill produced BHP and the workers in the city made lots of people extremely rich, but they forgot about the city and the people that made them rich. We are working class and proud to represent that in our music.

8. The tonal range — genuinely angry, self-deprecating, very funny — is hard to maintain without one register undermining the others. Wank Sock and Generation of Discontent both exist. How do you keep that balance across an album?

Everything we do is from the heart. I know that sounds clichéd, but I don't care because I know it is, and that's what really matters. Aussies love to take the piss out of ourselves and others, and that's why I believe punters from all around the world love us. We're not trying to put on a façade — as my dad used to say, it's easier to be yourself than someone you're not. Punters say our music caters for everyone in the scene. We get lots of Skins and Punks to our gigs and this is not deliberate in any way. We just do what we do and what we like. Maybe lyrically it appeals to a broad range of sub-genres — I like lots of styles: Oi!, Punk, UK82, Anarcho, Trash.

9. Not the Enemy is your second album in a relatively short period of operation. What do you understand now about making a Convict Class record that you didn't know going into the debut?

Good question. I guess just going in with confidence this time, knowing that people appreciate us and what we do. We're all the first to doubt ourselves. This time we knew we had people who love our music, so we just wanted to write and record with that in mind. We just want to get better and better and give our fans the music they deserve and love.

10. What do you want someone who's never heard you to know about what this band is actually doing?

We have gained so many fans after they've seen us live — so come see us. You can't replicate a live performance in a recording studio. With over 60 live performances under our belt, we believe we deliver a set you won't forget.

Punk is about the people and singing about stuff that means something. We want punters to have memories of us for the rest of their lives, as they are doing for us. We are privileged to have the chance to play all over the world and get to meet so many cool people.

Watch this killer new clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq6rYTz3V7A

CONVICT CLASS — UK TOUR 2026

9 dates across July/August — full schedule TBC via band socials

Rebellion Festival — 6–9 August 2026 | Winter Gardens, Blackpool UK

(30th anniversary / 50th anniversary of UK punk)

Tickets and updates: convictclass.bandcamp.com / Randale Records

Not the Enemy — out now on Randale Records

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https://www.facebook.com/convict.class

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