SKANK III
with The Irregulars and The Skamasters.

Bedford Esquires Lev 2 Saturday 22nd September 2012.

Tonight on the main stage it is Skank III and for a change it's "not in the park". Unfortunately, due to an illness within the band, Edinburghs's Vrang Matang could not be with us. Stepping in at very late notice is Mr King Hammond who is well known in the ska world. He has a warm personality and when introducing himself he amusingly quips "I know you were expecting a band. Instead you got a man the size of a band"!
King Hammond has been around a bit. He was once in The Selecter apparently. However, one does detect that all was not totally harmonious with Pauline Black as on the introduction to "Symphony of love" he bizarrely asks "Have you ever had a wife or girlfriend you would like to f**king strangle?", before adding quickly "Well I wrote this song about the vocalist"! With the room filling up very steadily, we witness the acutely rare sight of a couple of blokes attempting to dance to an acoustic singer. Maybe it's the alcohol or the music percolating in their heads. Maybe they just can't wait until later. Apart from a few sporadic moments, his set gets quite tiresome very quickly. One high spot is a song called "Rudest girl in town" which contains the witty line "She wears her trilby like a crown", which made me smile. However, the sight of a middle aged white man in glasses spouting reggae nonsense is a wee bit weird to say the least. "Dreader then Dredd"? More like dreadful!
There is certainly a party atmosphere upstairs tonight. Infectious dancing is everywhere except for this reviewer. As someone who does not really buy into ska music, it's all rather samey. In fact, cynically I would find ten pounds for the following two bands, both of which are covers orientated, perhaps a touch expensive, especially in these tough economic times. It is very much a specialist night where people only have eyes and ears for ska. An evening when boots and braces mix freely with suits and shoes.

The Irregulars are a five piece covers band based in London. They specialise in early ska, rocksteady and 2 tone. Tonight they reprise songs such as "A message to you, Rudy", "Long shot kick de bucket", "Special Brew" and finish with "Enjoy yourself". I find this finale highly ironic, I just wish I could!

The Skamasters are a nine piece ska covers band. They include Junior amongst their ranks. Known to everybody on the Bedfordshire (and beyond) music scene, it is his first appearance on the main stage for many years, in fact since he played with Moolie. However, it is a bittersweet moment for him as his father sadly passed away recently. Thoughts are with him and a special announcement is made. The Skamasters dedicate "Red red wine" to the memory of Junior's dad. Huge applause breaks out at it's close and loud chants of "J-U-N-I-O-R" echo around the room. As the dancing continues, everyone now seems to be wearing a brightly coloured garland around their neck. Such ska classics as "54-46", "House of fun", "Monkey man" and "Gangsters" are lapped up avidly by such an enthusiastic audience. They will all be needing some deep heat tomorrow morning to soothe those aching muscles!