Hot on the heels of a sold-out run of UK shows The Beat and Selecter bring their 2-Tone road show to mainland Europe – By Guy Shankland.Just twenty minutes from Brussels the picturesque Leuven is an absolute gem of a city, packed with bars, bistro’s and stunning architecture, oh and it’s also the birthplace of Stella Artois.
The modern Het Depot venue is compact, relaxed and the bar has a DJ knocking out old school Ska which goes down like an ice cold Leffe Blonde. The Beat are on first and deliver a delicious mix of new and old tunes. ‘Rough Rider’, ‘Stand Down Margret’ and a rocking ’Two Swords’ all hit the spot while ‘Too Nice To Talk To’ remains a 2-Tone classic. The critically acclaimed new album ‘Bounce’ has breathed new life into Ranking Roger (and his son Ranking Junior) and they drop a trio of tracks into the squashed set, including a Ragga infused ‘Side By Side’ and the melodically haunting ‘Avoid The Obvious’. ’Ranking Full Stop’ plus fan favourite ’Mirror In The Bathroom’ complete the first half of this doubleheader and a quick break gives the mainly middle-aged crowd a well-earned breather.
The Selecter have never sounded better than they do at this point in their career. Like The Beat, they have a new album out, the superb ‘Daylight’ and like their counterparts, they pick ‘n’ mix their impressive set list. An early ‘Three Minute Hero’ lights the touch paper for a second-half Skank-a-thon. Pauline Black and Gaps Henderson compliment each other with a close to telepathic timing, they are the perfect blend of strict headmistress and Dancehall MC. Both ‘Daylight’ and ’Breakdown’ are well received but it’s the timeless quality of ’Missing Words’ that gets the loudest mid-set reception. ‘James Bond’, ‘Last Train To Skaville’ and the majestic ‘Pressure Drop’ push us on towards the final whistle. There’s still room for an injury-time winner, which comes in the form of another 2-Tone great, the pulsating ’On My Radio’. For the grand finale both Ranking Roger and Junior join The Selecter for a lap of honour run through of Prince Buster’s much loved ‘Madness’.
As the house lights go up Pauline Black is already back on the merchandise stand, busy signing albums, ticket stubs, set-lists as well as her autobiography, selling T-shirts and patiently posing for selfies. Once again proving herself a class act both off and on stage.