It was an evening to turn back the clock on Sunday at the famous old ballroom. Back to the simpler days of sta-press trousers, Fred Perry polo shirts and tasselled loafers, when music and fashion were the most important things in life and you only made friends with people who loved the same tunes as you. The audience on Sunday was graced with not one but two massive bands from the late 70s, and they gave the audience two hours of some of the best tunes which emerged from that era, Pauline Black and The Selecter, and Dave Wakeling with The English Beat. Add to that the delights of ex-Bodysnatcher Rhoda Dakar on the decks spinning the vinyls in between the bands, and the night couldn’t have got much better!
Up first The Selecter. Only two original members remain now, namely Pauline Black up front and Charley ‘Aitch’ Bembridge on drums. After the sad passing of vocalist Gaps Hendrikson, it was down to the originals plus John Robertson, Andrew Pearson, Lee Horsley and Neil Pyzer, and they still make a great sound which does the songs both old and new, justice.
Opening with The Avengers, the 45-minute-long set included all the big hits the band produced. 3 Minute Hero, Missing Words and On My Radio interspersed with newer tracks like Frontline and a Skanking cover of Last Trains to Skaville. Pauline Black was on fine form, and the crowd were loving reliving their youth. Closing their set was Skanin’ favourite, Too Much Pressure, and The Selecters’ slot was complete. Pauline was always close to the fans of the band and she spent quite a while at the merch stall meeting them and signing autographs after their set. A nice touch from her.
Rhoda Dakar was the singer with The Bodysnatchers, who had a big hit around the same era with Lets Do Rock Steady! Tonight, her main duty was to entertain the crowd between both bands, and she did so admirably, with some great Ska and Two-Tone classics.
Main band for the evening were Dave Wakeling and The English Beat. The original band were formed in Birmingham in 1978. Co-vocalist Ranking Roger added a Jamaican slant to the band’s sound with his skanking vocal style, and they hit the charts a year later with tracks such as Tears of a Clown, Best Friend and Stand Down Margaret. All these hits, plus more, would be showcased on this evening’s setlist.
Opening with Prince Buster’s Rough Rider and Twist & Crawl, the smile on lead Dave Wakeling’s face was evident, as he rattled thru the hits and loved every second. Hands Off, She’s Mine and another couple of covers in Tears of a Clown and Cant Get Used to Losing You found the Glasgow crowd with their dancing shoes on! 1980 hit single Too Nice to Talk To went down well with Save It for Later following on. With the clock ticking, there wasn’t enough time for an encore, so the band carried on with Ranking Full Stop segued into Mirror in the Bathroom, and Jackpot closed the evening.
The Two Tone era was a great time for music, with bands such as The Specials, Madness and Bad Manners all big hitters in the scene, but The Selecter and The Beat are up there with the best. All the old tunes still sound great forty-plus years on, with lead vocalists Pauline Black and Dave Wakeling still on fine form and still giving the fans what they want to hear, and on this evening’s form, long may that continue.
Review & Photographs by Stephen Wilson Photography
