Fresh from having a huge chunk of their equipment stolen The Quireboys sail into Reading and undeterred they deliver another bourbon soaked night of hip shaking Rock ‘N’ Roll. Lead singer Spike is an ageless hooch pirate all swaying bandanna’s, waistcoat, denim jeans plus the obligatory pint glass stuck to his paw (diet coke my arse!). He scrapes the rust from his larynx and delivers a jolly roger performance of swirls, twirls and with a voice like tyres wheel spinning on fresh gravel, he owns the stage. The setlist hasn’t changed much since the last time I witnessed them at the brilliant Stone Deaf festival.
‘Tramps And Thieves’, ‘Mona Lisa Smiled’ and a bouncing ‘There She Goes Again’ keep the slightly sozzled Friday nighters singing ‘n’ smiling. The Quireboys are a travelling party and with cuts such as ‘This Is Rock ‘N’ Roll’, ‘Hey You’ plus the obligatory hit ‘7 ‘O’ Clock’ are all bellowed out with a joyous geordie gusto. As ballad’s go, I’m not sure there’s a better “Rock” one than ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’ before ‘Sex Party’ tips us out at the very conservative time of 10 pm, just as the Berkshire youth are starting to converge for their big Friday night out, I suddenly feel old but due to a Quireboys masterclass, strangely contented.