The biblical amount of rain that fell on Birmingham’s streets did nothing to deter the die hard fans that have been patiently waiting nearly 30 years to see a band that called it a day in the mid 90’s reform for just 6 UK shows. From the early days in Bellshill, Glasgow, this quartet have been a part of a scene that has been well documented over the years, acts such as The Vaselines, The Pastels, Teenage Fanclub and BMX Bandits owned the live scene in the area and, unbeknown to them, would be instrumental in forging the careers of many acts who drew influence from them. I am talking about a group called The Soup Dragons and I was in the heart of the Birmingham city centre to catch their live show at the O2 Academy.

After peeling off my wetsuit, I mean jacket, I wrung it out and handed it to the cloakroom assistant who gingerly took it and looked perplexed as I fumbled through my phone to find my O2 app which teased me with a bonus ‘free cloakroom’ pass for the night (go me!) we trudged up to the first floor and located the toilets to dry off, spending 10 minutes sat underneath the warm air dryers in an attempt to wipe away the penetrating rain that had reach parts of our bodies which I didn’t think possible. 

Once we were semi-presentable, I spent the next 5 minutes trying to get the plastic backing off my photo pass, with cold and wet fingers, it proved an ordeal and I even asked the security chap in the pit if he could assist. We finally got there and I was suitably labelled and ready to go.

I’d chatted to Sean Dickson a few weeks back and bumped into him just before the support act took to the stage, he politely informed me that he was ‘saving his voice’ so conversation was limited but he thanked me for the interview and said that I looked just like I did on the ZOOM (other interview platforms are available) call that we did.

BMX Bandits took to the stage, Duglas T. Stewart looked every bit the frontman in his jacket, flowing locks and red trucker cap which set the scene perfectly, to his left and right were the other BMXers in the form of Andrew Pattie on guitar, Amanda Nizich on bass and Liam Chapman on drums. What made me smile was the fact that all of the members of the Soups had been involved in BMX Bandits in the past and I likened them to a Glaswegian version of The Fall which had involved band members from just about every place on earth during its tenure!

Armed with a back catalogue of tracks, Duglas et al took the room through a fantastic set, full of California via Glasgow tinged indie classics which included the sublime ‘Serious Drugs’ which saw the room trudging along and ‘Razorblades and Honey’ which Duglas had collaborated with a member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre to write, bringing the tempo up with its driving bass and well enacted three part harmonies.

With a kazoo taking centre stage alongside songs that took you back to the twee days of mid 80’s indie pop and a killer a cappella version of a track I wasn’t familiar with, they really did set the scene for the night. I was mildly disappointed that ‘Kylie’ never got a mention but other than that, it was great to see Duglas and his band on top form, supporting the Soups.

I met Duglas after his set and thanks him for what he has done with his band over the years, this was a real moment for me….

After a quick shuffle about on stage, bladders were emptied to make way for more gassy overpriced drinks as The Soup Dragons took to the stage to huge applause, everyone was excited, buckle up folks, here we go!

The room was filled with people of a certain age, not so much hair and most donning corrective eyewear and whilst this was to be expected, what I did notice was that apart from the odd photo and video being taken, people were ‘engaged’, not staring through the screens of mobile phones, eagerly waiting to upload their wares to the evil social platforms so strangers can attempt to endure their shaky footage complete with tinny audio….

The set was a roller coaster ride through the early days of the band and into the later stage of their career which saw them playing tracks from their debut This is Our Art through to Hotwired. I don’t recall hearing anything from their last album Hydrophonic but if truth be told, I wasn’t familiar with that one so no love lost.

Sean pulled out the cowbell which kick started three tracks with it playing a major part, ‘Pleasure’, ‘Backward Dog’ and ‘Divine Thing’ which cranked up the dance-o-meter and saw the room grooving along in unison, I still think that these tracks needed MORE in the cowbell department but I’ll leave that to Christopher Walken and Blue Oyster Cult to do that!

Their two new numbers ‘Love is Love’ and ‘No Music on a Dead Planet’ went down really well and despite Fred Shneider (of the B52’s) not being available for tonight’s performance, his vocals were still present which was great to hear.

It was interesting watching how their dynamic changed as the set progressed, there was a clear divide between the 80’s indie material and the indie-dance crossover tracks that appeared on Lovegod, which was the album that I fell in love with back in 1990 (I got the CD for Christmas along with a rather fetching lemon yellow cardigan which attracted the attention of many female companions from damp and sordid dens of inequity at the time).

Towards the end of the set, they rolled out the big guns, ‘I’m Free’ went down as expected, it would have been great to see Junior Reid on stage with them but we can’t have it all! 

For me, the highlight of the show was the final track, ‘Mother Universe’, a sublime dance offering complete with groovy bass and a killer drums which cranked the atmos up to 11 and saw the whole place singing along, arms aloft in celebration of this monumentous event.

Tonight was a chance to transport oneself back to the heady days of the early 90’s and once again, revel in the company of a band that had conquered the system, broken out of the humdrum of daily life in a small suburb of Glasgow in the late 80’s and helped to put it on the map. As a result, The Soup Dragons have become part of musical history and I for one was pleased to have seen them once again, doing what they do best….

Take a bow chaps, it was a tremendous evening and I sincerely hope that this isn’t ‘goodnight’ from a band that helped me to forge my own path on what would have been a very arduous sonic journey.

Setlist

Whole Wide World *

Pleasantly Surprised *

I Know Everything *

Love is Love §

Learning to Fall *

Softly ^

What You Want $

Hang Ten *

Pleasure $

Backwards Dog ^

Divine Thing $

Head Gone Astray *

Crotch Deep Trash ^

Too Shy to Say *

On Overhead Walkways >

Soft as Your Face >

I’m Free ^

Majestic Head *

Can’t Take No More *

No Music on a Dead Planet §

Mother Universe ^

* Raw TV Products

> This is our Art

^ Lovegod

$ Hot Wired

§ New track

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt