Originally published by L.S. Media. March 7th 2009.

Like most people the only time I have come across Chumbawamba is when they released Tub-Thumping in 1997, the wonderful moment when they chucked water over the then deputy Prime Minister John Prescott during the Brit Awards and their support of the Liverpool Dockers.

Chumbawamba are a band that have stuck by their convictions and politics, and more power to them for doing so and not selling out after they had they had a number two hit with the aforementioned song. Instead they have concentrated on making music that appealed to them and to the loyal fans, this shows with the diverse age and cross section of the audience that attended the evening for whom it looked as if that music was there to be enjoyed and not to worry about all extras which go with it.

By opening the night with a few songs from their excellent 2008 album The Boy Bands Have Won of which there are so many stand out tracks that it is almost embarrassing that Boff Whalley, Lou Watts, Jude Abbott and Niall Ferguson can come with so many decent tunes, possibly a stark reminder that for the moment, the so called boy bands haven’t won.

An excellent track played on the night was the Facebook, Bebo warning Add Me, a wonderful reflection on the desire to be liked by everybody and a warning to those to be careful to who you do add to your profile!

Despite calls from certain old guard fans for Tub Thumping to be played, Boff Whalley playfully brushed it aside and even managed to turn a couple of lines around towards the latter part of the evening by good-humouredly adding the lines “15 pounds to watch them and they don’t even play the one song we know” to the tune of the song.

Other songs to be played on the night were the subtly charged El Fusilado, the ironic I Wish That They’d Sack Me and Sing About Love.

For a night of classic folk music and a fun night without breaking the bank you can do a lot worse than catching Chumbawamba live.

Ian Hall