It’s been a long time coming, and it’s good to be back. As I head into the big smoke for the first Role Models show in many a moon, I’m excited to hear a bunch of songs I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing live for quite some time and in a venue I’ve not been in for even longer. Hell, Bob Dylan played here, and I also believe it was the first venue the Pogues played in, as well as Oasis, so no pressure, gentlemen.

First up are the ever-impressive Empty Page; however, I entered the venue as they were exiting, much to my shame, as I wanted to catch them, as I haven’t seen them since they last played in the Black Heart with Role Models and their latest album ‘Imploding’ was one of the best albums from a UK band last year. Onto Billy Liar, who was performing with his full electric band, which is something I’ve not seen before, as previously it was just Billy on his own, which is a pretty formidable spectacle in itself, but tonight it was a very different beast, and opening with the excellent ‘Righteous And The Rats’ from his debut album ‘Some Legacy’ the band sounded tight and full of energy. By the time they hit the excellent ‘Baltimore’ they were on fire and it was an impressive sight as Billy led the band through tracks off both his albums, putting a smile on the faces of those present with his storytelling lyrics oozing style and craft with his folk meets working class punk rock but it’s all about the songs, and Billy has a pocketful of em.

There’s even time for a rampant run through the Rancid classic ‘Olympia’, and by the time ‘I Still Struggle’ filled the room, it was almost done. Only time left for a barbaric romp through ‘Hogmanay’ and the night was perfectly poised with a short while before Role Models hit the stage, and the most excellent supporting cast had suitably warmed up the audience.

The lights dimmed as Rags moved centre stage before being joined by the rest of the band for tonight’s headlining set. Opening with a wild and raucous ‘Dance Moves’ before heading straight into ‘Lie For Today’, before ‘Saturday Night Sailor’ thumped through the speakers. It was commented to me how in step the rhythm section was, holding the energy of the songs with a really tight double punch courtesy of Simon and Dan, who were on fire.

It was clear that the spirit of Role Models was filling the room with a bunch of catchy power pop punk rock n roll tunes and keeping them loose is a fine line, but tonight these four walked that tightrope perfectly, and already we were flicking through the albums from ‘Go To Guy’ via ‘Dance Moves’, and ‘(I Broke My Back) Disappointing You’ was like being hit by a steaming train. Loud, fun and boundless energy, this is what rock ‘n’ roll should sound like.

For those who don’t know, there’s more Role Models material outside of the three albums, and tonight we had them hitting us from everywhere. ‘The Charity EP, ‘Fuck You, See You At The Talent Show’ it was coming from all corners tonight. Represented from that fantastic EP were ‘New Reason’ and ‘Little Let Down’, but they bookended the soulful and emotional ‘Bullshit Corner’, a real deep cut from the ‘Forest Lawn’ album, where Rags stood alone on the stage but filled the room with raw emotion before being joined by the rest of the band. Damn, how the fuck weren’t these songs on the damn radio and these four gentlemen playing sold-out shows across the country? If I could have hand-picked the set list, I’d have plumped for a mix of what’s come so far and the bangers that pepper the second half of the set, with the deep cuts like ‘Bullshit Corner’, this was opening up to be one hell of a night.

By the time we hit the homestretch, it was the sing-alongs of ‘Cherry Dear’ followed by ‘Manette Street’, Damn, why did I just look at the time? This awesome reunion was drawing to a close, so it was ‘Radio’ followed by the showstopper of ‘This Eventually Leads Nowhere’, and we were done. Rags said his thanks and left the stage. Still, we weren’t done yet; no, sir, the audience demanded they return to the stage for an encore that was genuinely deserved. There was no fake ending; it was done and dusted. Still, being the good go-to guys, of course, they were going to play one more, Whammo!!! Songs were shouted out, but it was deemed we needed to hear ‘Disappointing You’ one more time when Nick’s amp rebooted, obviously.

It was always a pleasure and never a chore watching these boys, and I was delighted to have made the journey up to London Town to catch them again, and I headed out into the cold London night, happy that once again they delivered the goods and zero bullshit rock ‘n’ roll was delivered, and people left with happy smiling faces. That’s job done, isn’t it? Now, one last request: Can we do this maybe every year, maybe just before Christmas? Pretty please? Whammo!!! It’s been a long time coming, and it’s good to be back.

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Author: Dom Daley

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