09 March 2007 (gig)
16 March 2007
You know something is not quite right when you arrive at the venue for the 8pm start and the band you’ve come to see walks past you in the street and heads for the local pub. Sure enough when we arrive at the ticket office we are told that the cockney songsters had already played an hour due to the absence of a support act.
This was the third night of a 38 date tour which will ultimately take in the Glastonbury festival and Cardiff’s Millennium stadium. The venue was only about half full and this was probably down to the lack of promotion by the venue as this was the only stop in the North West of England.
During the first hour the lads delved deep into their repertoire and played more of their older material, meaning - when they returned from the boozer - the rest of the gig was filled with all the old favourites. Gertcha, Rabbit, the Sideboard Song all got an airing along with Wallop and London Girls. Snooker Loopy and Ain’t No Pleasing You provided the singalong moments but the highlight for me was 'Margate’.
The set seemed effortless at times and showed the years of experience that these guys have in live performance. A special mention to drummer Mick Burt who supplied a quality solo midway through. 'Give it some stick Mick'
The crowd a mixture of young and old, students through to pensioners which sums up the cult status that the boys now achieve. Everyone here tonight had a right old knees up. Oi!
