Well walking into the sold out Utilita tonight we were remembering that it was thirty plus years since we first saw this Glaswegian band. The first of about five or six times in various venues, and after all this time they are hitting the road with a greatest hits tour, and to be honest we knew we were in for a great time. They have the back catalogue, the experience and of course the not-so-secret weapon, Sharleen Spiteri, and she never fails. Yes, she’s a self-confessed potty mouth, but with that glint in her eyes, I’ve never known a front person insult and swear at their fans so much, but the crowd love her banter.

They are still a great live band and have a tendency to surprise you after maybe thinking their chart success may be over, and bang they are back as proved by recent single ‘Mr Haze’ and a number one greatest hits album! Kicking off tonight with their first hit, the never ageing ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’, and two hours later still banging out the hits to a mesmerized crowd, too many to mention. Only slowing it down halfway through with three acoustic versions of ‘Put Your Arms Around Me’, ‘Sleep’ and ‘In Demand’, before upping the pace again with the afore mentioned ‘Mr Haze’, ‘Black Eyed Boy’ and ‘Say What You Want’, with the crowd taking over the singing, awesome.

And after the ever-cheeky Sharleen stating the obvious, that they were going to come back out for a couple more, reappearing dressed in her leather suit that still fits very well, for ‘Inner Smile’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’. Again Sharleen, a big fan of Elvis, said to the audience that if they don’t recognise this song after the first few notes, “you may as well $*&% off now”.

She still has an amazingly great voice, and there is no reason why they will not only have more hits in the future and tour until they had enough. But on this showing again, I can’t see that happening anytime soon. Texas forever.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe