What better day is there than 1st January to get the music year started with three hours of Ska music? The crowd at Slay were up for a party, it was New Years Day after all and we think there were more than a few still feeling the effects of the midnight bells! Pork pie hats and dungarees could be seen around the room. Bad Manners had been touring around the UK in the past couple of weeks and after Edinburgh on 30th December the tour finished up as always in Glasgow and what a way to end the tour it was. Slay was jumping from the first minute of music from Glasgow Ska band Esperanza, as the nine members of the band entertained the crowd for just under an hour. The four member brass section were a highlight helping to keep the fans dancing away alongside some great melodies from the two guitarists as well as great vocals. The set highlights had to be Forget It and 2-Tone Ain’t Dead. Esperanza are a very lively band and we would like to see them play a headline set. 8/10
Londoner Max Splodge has a reputation for playing his own version of punk music and had been making music for almost as long as Bad Manners, so far back as the late 1970s. He had his own band Splodgenessabounds in the 1980s and we would get to hear some tracks from this back catalogue as well as a few cover versions. In fact the set began with a cover of the Toy Dolls number one single Nellie The Elephant, which the crowd responded to with great enthusiasm, and the catchy chorus had everyone in the room joining in with the oooooohhhhhh! part much to the delight of the band. The atmosphere in Slay tonight was honestly something special with everyone’s version of Ska dancing being prevalent. We were delighted when the first 7 inch record we ever bought was covered, Swords Of A Thousand Men by Tenpole Tudor, which sparked another singalong to the chorus. Splodge and his band had great continuity during the set with the highlight being the last of the ten track set Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Although many perhaps expected a longer set but all in all a great performance from Splodge who was at times very static on the stage but his Dennis The Menace style jumper stood out well in the intimate venue. 8/10
Bad Manners vocalists Buster Bloodvessel is a no holds barred front man who takes no nonsense and the band puts on an incredible show with great connectivity with the audience. Bloodvessel and the band took to the stage around 9.15pm to an explosion of cheers from the crowd and after the usual instrumental Echo 4+2 intro it was straight into This Is Ska, as if the crowd needed a reminder as to why they were there. By this point we were tightly packed in at the front but allowing some extra space for the more enthusiastic dancers. Crowd pleaser My Girl Lollipop got everyone singing along again as did the ever popular track Lorraine. The crowd tonight were excellent throughout the performance and we could feel the joy in the air with every single person in the room either singing, dancing or smiling during the set.
As the first line belted out “You’re too good to be true/Can’t take my eyes off you” from a cover of Frankie Valli song Can’t Take My Eyes Off You was followed by the very popular Walking In The Sunshine. Then came what was probably the highlight of the night in Sally Brown as Bloodvessel sang “Can I tell you about Sally Brown/Sally Brown is a girl in town”. The main set ended with Wooly Bully and Special Brew, a song which always connects to the crowd so well and tonight was no different as we all sang the chorus at the top of our lungs amid chaotic scenes in the room. For the two song encore everyone else knew what was coming as this is an annual outing for a good proportion of the ska fans in tonight. Lip Up Fatty and The Can Can, two of the bands most popular songs were great choices to end the night. The Can Can is usually a number for everyone to kick their legs out but this had to be done mindfully tonight so as not to kick anyone in front of you! Bad Manners announced at the end of the set that they have already booked for next January 1st and we can’t wait for that. They are such a fitting band to bring in the new year in Glasgow. 9/10
Written By: Alan Brown
