Black Grape's Return Is Long Overdue
Published
Hands up, it was actually the support band that persuaded me to go to this. I saw Alias Kid over at the Isle of Wight festival (click for interview) and when I heard they were playing in London it was a no brainer. I just had to see them again. They were brilliant as I expected, and I'm hoping we'll be hearing loads more from them.
The headliners, Black Grape, were a band that had passed me by a bit in the 90s, and in fact my husband even had a copy of 'Great when you're straight ... yeah' but ended up taking it back to the shop! The thing I remember most about Black Grape were the dancy, sweaty, euphoric moments at the end of long nights when it's clearly time to go home but then 'In the name of the father' comes on and your feet won't leave the dance floor.
Pretty much a packed out Forum by the time Black Grape began their set. There was a slight delay (about two pints worth) due to an extended car journey down from the north and some traffic issues, but you wouldn't have guessed as from the minute Shaun Ryder and Kermit (that's the rapper not the frog) bound on stage it was pure energy and a crowd-pleasing trip back in time to some old favourites.
Given that it's been twenty (ouch) years since their debut album and that there's a whole bunch of newly acquired session musicians up there with Shaun and Kerm, it really amazes me that the sound is so fresh still. Kermit is looking fresh as a daisy too and seems to be as fit as a fiddle, very surprising as he was banging on death's door in a hospital a while ago. And Shaun seems like he's totally buzzing from this, maybe that's just all the fizzy pop and chocolate from backstage though!!
But really what a comeback. It's the stuff from the debut album which really gets everybody going, material from the lesser known follow up 'Stupid stupid stupid' doesn't quite hit the mark in the same way. But maybe that's just because it's less familiar to me.
Whatever has gone on in Shaun Ryder's life over the last couple of decades, things seem to be working right now, and as he came across in our little chat afterwards, he's now in a happier, more content, more settled frame of mind. This is definitely evident in the way the songs are performed now, cheeky grins and boyish bouncing abound, and it seems like Black Grape have managed to put the past behind them and take things to the next step.
It's like one massive party up there on stage, and it's difficult to resist the urge to jump right up there with them and fill the gap where Bez should be with some mashed up tambourine playing. The big tunes still sounded big - impressively merging genres and styles in a seamless way. And of course the audience loved every single fun filled second. Here's hoping this isn't just a one-off anniversary tour and that we get the new Black Grape material coming our way soon.
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To find out more about Black Grape click here.
To visit the Black Grape Facebook page click here.
Words and interview by Mary Long
