Nothing says Christmas like Band-Aid’s ‘Feed The World’ on constant radio rotation or ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ (and ‘Scrooged’) on the telly or that Slade song coming out of every shop doorway and of course 2-Tone stalwarts Bad Manners doing their annual yuletide UK tour. Long-time Manners opener Max Splodge is the perfect man to gee-up the Fred Perry wearing throng. Both his musical and comedic delivery are spot on as he (and the Bad Manners band) crash through ‘Hurry Up Harry’, ‘Take ‘Em All’, ‘Swords Of a Thousand Men’ and the Splodgenessabounds 1980 top ten hit single ‘Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps’. The Bad Manners live set doesn’t change much from year to year and although it could do with a slight freshen up, a big part of the band’s ongoing charm is in the knowing what you’re going to get from another night out with Buster & Co.
It’s a Ska-party from start to finish as ‘This Is Ska’, ‘Lollipop’ and the anthemic ‘Lorraine’ getting the busy Sub crowd skanking from the off. Dressed in football shorts, a bizarre semi see-through t-shirt and a fetching paisley Harrington Buster is a pure pantomime performer. After forty years of treading the boards he knows his (ever-loyal) audience, he knows what they want and how to give it to them. ‘Just A Feeling’ is proceeded by a raucous cover of Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ before ‘Walking In The Sunshine’ and the razorblade edge of ‘Inner London Violence’. A bouncing ‘Feel Like Jumping’ is partnered by the booming ‘Special Brew’ and both are devoured by the boozy Sunday night crowd who try (more than once) to get a “You fat bastard’ chant going. The encores of ‘Can-Can’ and ‘Lip Up Fatty’ bring another Bad Manners festive masterclass to a close. It just wouldn’t be a festive period without a few beers in the company of the one and only Bad Manners.