I hate the O2. I really do. It's mahoosive. That is all.
But the siren's call was too strong…..
The O2
21st December 2014
Scouting for Girls, Madness
& the mother of all Christmas parties.
It must be love!
It was over in a Heartbeat (see what I did there) and in the space of grabbing a couple of beers (and going to the loo to be fair) the O2 had filled to capacity with a seething mass of 'salt of the earth' blokes and blokettes intent on partying.
The DJ knew what his audience wanted and partying was the order of the day until Lee Thompson ran onto the stage, clad in a radiation suit and goggles, complete with fire extinguishers. The sound of horns announced the arrival of Madness on a NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO. The screens fell away to reveal the band and the audience went bonkers!
It was a greatest hits gig - everyone a winner (well, lets gloss over the last rag & bone man) so much so that going to the bar wasn't an option. Luckily the plight of the beer-less woman was spotted by a 2 tone ruuuuuuude boy standing down on the floor, he bought me a beer and passed it up into the stands. Good man! After the third such rescue attempt I decided payment was in order and swapped my hat for a beer. I like people.
So, it was champagne and sparkle all round - We got to the O2 early and as the champagne bar was right at our entrance, and empty… well it would be rude not to. We took a deep breath, a second mortgage and treated ourselves. Well, it's christmas!
I had us in our seats (yes seats! What can I say - I hate the O2) in plenty of time to see Scouting for Girls who are, as you know my guilty pleasure. (If you DON'T know this, please can I refer you back to the 8th April and ask you to pay attention) I have seen Scouting For Girls play a small intimate venue and also fill the Albert Hall with adoring fans so it was frankly disconcerting to see them play support to a largely disinterested ska crowd. We stood, we danced, we sang loudly in support and the boys did their best to work the crowd they had available to them, but it was frankly a bit weird. I wanted to tell people to shut up and listen, or better still get up and dance, but in the end I gave myself up to singing along to classic lyrics about posh girls (Is it true what they say about posh girls?) and wishing I was James Bond.
It was over in a Heartbeat (see what I did there) and in the space of grabbing a couple of beers (and going to the loo to be fair) the O2 had filled to capacity with a seething mass of 'salt of the earth' blokes and blokettes intent on partying.
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| Making friends, My favourite image is the gurning guy in the fez :) |
The DJ knew what his audience wanted and partying was the order of the day until Lee Thompson ran onto the stage, clad in a radiation suit and goggles, complete with fire extinguishers. The sound of horns announced the arrival of Madness on a NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO. The screens fell away to reveal the band and the audience went bonkers!
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(Shirley Bassey cover) (Chrissy Boy on vocals)
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(Labi Siffre cover)
- Encore:
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(Prince Buster cover)
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(Prince Buster cover) (with Clive Langer)
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It was a greatest hits gig - everyone a winner (well, lets gloss over the last rag & bone man) so much so that going to the bar wasn't an option. Luckily the plight of the beer-less woman was spotted by a 2 tone ruuuuuuude boy standing down on the floor, he bought me a beer and passed it up into the stands. Good man! After the third such rescue attempt I decided payment was in order and swapped my hat for a beer. I like people.
Fezzes off to Madness - there was nothing dated or cheesy about this performance. They perform the seminal numbers with utter commitment and even Baggy Trousers sounded fresh and relevant. There were some gems in there, 'Shut Up' has one of my favourite lines of all time,
'I'm as honest as the day is long -
the longer the daylight the less I do wrong."
and filling the 02 with hearts for it must be love was…..
well, lovely!
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| Thanks to my dance happy buddy for capturing this great moment. This was a feel good factor 10 gig. We made friends and traded hats for beers. We danced and sang and I believe we quizzed people on the correct plural of fez. There was no question of leaving early to avoid the rush, instead we settled for finding a bar and leaving late.
The entire night ended in Southfields at chip shop man's Christmas party.
But that's another story.
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