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Liverpool crowds are traditionally unforgiving. To stand centre stage at a Merseyside gig and make a comment like “who the f**k are The Beatles” is daring. It’s even more audacious to engage in football ‘banter’.
Yesterday The Specials did both. Yet the crowd at the Liverpool Olympia loved them.
Last night was the opening gig for the seventh Liverpool Music Week. With a plethora of high-profile bands playing in venues across the city it promises to be an exciting time for gig-goers. Yet you’ll be hard pushed to find an act to top last night’s show.
The Coventry band, who are on the second leg of a mammoth 30th year anniversary reunion tour, showed no signs of tiring.
They quite literally bounced their way through a 90 minuted set with barely a breather.
A buoyant sell-out crowd bayed for them as a DJ worked his way through an inspiring ska-reggae set. They didn’t have long to wait. Just after 9pm a black curtain lifted. Silhouettes of the 2 tone band appeared behind a white secondary curtain and they launched into ska-anthem “Do The Dog”.
There was barely a soul in the venue who wasn’t dancing as the white sheet dropped. How could you not.
Whether through choice or human fate a significant proportion of the audience were sporting skinheads. The stage lights reflected off the baldness. From the balcony the packed standing area almost resembled a children’s ball pond. Heads rhythmically bounced in a fashion of organised chaos.
Five songs in we were treated to mega-hit Rat Race. Almost to a man the crowd clenched their fists and sang every word like they truly meant it.
There have been several incarnations of The Specials since peaking and splitting in the late 70’s early 80’s. However this 2009 reformation has had fans salivating most. Original keyboard player and lyricist Jerry Dammers is not part of the line up, but six of the originals are. Including front man Terry Hall.
Hall teased the crowed with occasional references to Manchester United. Albeit mainly downbeat references. United were convincingly beaten by rivals Liverpool last weekend. He dedicated “Do nothing” to Michael Owen. The crowd were non-fussed. They were there to taken in hit-after-hit. Hall, and the others delivered.
Perhaps the loudest cheer of the evening was reserved for the intro to anti-racism song “Doesn’t make it alright”. Exactly a week after the BNP’s much-debated appearance on the BBC, Hall announced the song was now to be called “Nick Griffin is a fat, Holocaust denying c***”. Liverpool, a diverse, multicultural, left-wing city, hollered in appreciation.
On Monday Q Magazine awarded The Specials with their Inspiration Award. The past tense ought to be dropped. They are still inspiring. ‘Message to you Rudy’, ‘Too much too young’ and ‘Ghost town’ were particularly pleasing.
As a successful gig ended with two encores it became clear The Olympia is criminally underused.
Despite sitting barely a mile of the city centre it seldom hosts concerts. Following on from last night’s triumph there will surely be more in the pipeline.
As a collection of happy Fred Perry wearing skinheads meandered their way out I overheard one excited forty-something shout down a phone “that was special”. Whether it was an unintended pun or not I’m certain all present would be inclined to agree.