Girlschool absolutely know how to do this stuff—and it has to be said, with no disrespect meant to Balaam and the Angel, they are a better support fit than last year.
Kim McAuliffe and her current troupe (with drummer Denise Dufort absent and Larry Patterson, formerly of Blaze Bayley and currently in Alcatrazz, filling in) romp through 45 minutes of leather-clad, very British, greasy metal, with smiles on their faces.
“Demolition,” “Let’s Go,” and the like have lost none of their charm and power either, and Girlschool has lost none of their sense of humour. New bassist Olivia Airey is introduced by McAuliffe before “Hit and Run” with a cheery “Liv wasn’t even born when we recorded this,” but they still sound great.
Last year’s “WTFortyfive” was a stellar affair as “It Is What It Is” underlines, while old favourites like “Race With The Devil” prove the old adage about class being permanent.
Given their history with Motörhead, it’s no surprise to see “Bomber” played, and by the time “Emergency” ends things, there are probably more than a few who had been reminded and said of Girlschool, “WTF, these are good.”
“The Alfuckingmighty, the Alfuckingmighty” chant has gone up a few times, but here, when they’d just done “The Unreal Thing,” it was merely because there’d been a moment of quiet.
Rewind an hour and a half or so, at about 8:50 tonight, a mate of mine texted me. He was at another gig tonight—an arena show with a big metal band. “I feel old in this crowd,” was all it said.
Not here. Not in the fens. Here, the vast majority of us are between 45 and 55. Why? Because if you loved British rock in the early ’90s as a teenager, there’s a fair chance The Almighty are your favourite band. That’s why.
They might not have played the biggest venues in the world, but these boys mattered.
Their return last year was emotional for many of us, and there’s magic when these four friends get onto the stage here. Stumpy Monroe wanders out behind his kit, and the opening strains of “Crucify”—away we go then—and it’s different from last year given this was in the encore last year.
It’s brilliantly paced and brilliantly done because after “Destroyed,” the wonderful “Do You Understand?” is in.
That’s what makes this reunion (as there’s no better word for it) so special because most bands would only play the songs that the current lineup recorded, but not here. Andrew “Tantrum” McCafferty was only on the first two albums, but there’s as much of the fourth, “Crank,” as any other.
And as ever, there are no gimmicks—just wonderful songs, played wonderfully. And what’s more, it’s obvious that the band is enjoying this just as much as anyone else. Bass player Floyd London is full of energy, Tantrum just looks cool, and what of the frontman?
Ricky Warwick is the big star of this band, of course, but while he is always as good as it gets, there’s something about him playing “Wrench” or “Addiction” that elevates him still further.Another of the songs that have been added this year, “Gift Horse,” is accompanied by a story about them rehearsing in a freezing barn on the Warwick family farm, and they appear instantly back there.
But this is about the audience just as much as our experience with these songs, the events they’ve soundtracked. In my case, “Little Lost Sometimes” takes me back to 1999…you’ll have your own.
What is interesting about this is that there are some songs—”Crank + Deceit” for example—that shine here in a way perhaps you might not have expected, and then of course they can throw in a “Jonestown Mind” as if it’s no big deal. It is, in my opinion, the greatest song ever recorded.
At this point, let me be honest. Those people that I mentioned who had The Almighty as their favourite band include me, and there’s no point in me writing this any other way. So there’s an irony in the line in “Power” that goes “no one makes me feel like you do.”
Like all the best, they pace it superbly. “Bandaged Knees”—the type of Christmas song I enjoy—a singalong “Devil’s Toy” and “Over The Edge” build up to the “Wild And Wonderful” crescendo, as it were. They’d finished with that last year, which means there are only two songs they were ever going to do.
With a simple “Oh religion, what have you done to the world?” they eviscerate organised prayer with “Jesus Loves You…But I Don’t” (and I’m willing to bet that I’m the only person in here who’s ever quoted the lyrics in an English Language A Level essay), and then there’s a party for “Free N Easy.”
And if you want to sum up the fun of the night, Monroe gets excited and ends up in the photo pit but is unable to climb back onstage and needs to walk around. The look on Warwick’s face is a picture.
Two more on this run and three more shows next year. Only they know what’s after that, but I’m here to tell you that they’re still the all-loud, the all-wild, and The Almighty (plus any other word you choose to add). And there’s still no one to touch them when they’re on form like this.
