The Lancashire Hotpots (with Stu Penders and Spladoosh) Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (18th November 2017) It's been a couple of years since I last donned by flat cap, neckerchief and rainbow waistcoat to see the Northern comedy-folk band The Lancashire Hotpots so considered their tour to celebrate ten years since their debut the perfect re-introduction back to seeing the now six-strong band, and that decision was rewarded with one of their biggest, brightest and best performances yet. Jumping in the popular bandwagon of playing their debut album in full, something done recently by Maximo Park, Scouting for Girls, Reverend and the Makers and many others, they also delivered a best-of of the rest of the albums around it. The night opened with support from Stu Penders and Spladoosh, an act I'd come across last year with some brilliant drunken Christmas covers (this is hilarious and I only wish you could buy them). It would be disingenuous of me to reveal the people behind the wigs but all I'll say is that, even with a strong history of the Hotpots picking quality support acts, this was the best and arguably one of the most intentionally hilarious support acts I've ever seen. Over twenty-or-so minutes I probably laughed more at the mangled lyrics, over the top performance and skits by Stu Penders than I have in many comedy movies. Including an on-stage serenade to a member of the audience, this was a well rehearsed and planned comedy set that was laugh out loud funny and brilliantly timed.
Onto the main act and we got an impressive almost two-hours of music, and the Lancashire Hotpots once more showed that they could give far bigger bands a run for their money in the entertainment stakes, with a set-list that was pretty much the ideal one considering the confines of playing their first album in full. Opening with arguably their best introduction song 'Mek Us A Brew' the crowd, many dressed in flat caps, were on top form singing along to their songs. After this we got the debut album 'Never Mind the Hotpots' in full which, even though the order of songs, as the band confessed on stage, wasn't quite how they'd do it live, the energy was palpable. 'Chippy Tea', naturally, lit up the room whilst the singable bits of 'I Met A Girl on Myspace' lived on even if the social network doesn't. A calypso version of 'He Turned Emo' - either a funny error by keyboardist Billy McCartney or a set-up stage riff - was brilliant, and 'Ebay 'Eck', a personal favourite, was very welcome. Other highlights included an extended outro for 'The Firewall Song', the ever loveable 'A Lancashire DJ' complete with their infamous chorus, and after many years away a brilliant version of 'Me PSP', one of their best on the album. Throwing in live regular 'Bitter Lager Cider Ale and Stout' and the revitalised 'Sat Nav', complete with quick tribute to former member Willie Eckerslike, and it was clear that their first album was full of big hits. They even wrapped up with the ending Christmas song which is now relatively seasonally appropriate. After a quick pause the band delivered a greatest hits ending to the show that included many of their biggest party hits. We got the singable highlights of 'The Perfect Pint' and 'Thirsty Thursday', the anthemic 'The Girl from Bargain Booze', 'You Could Get Hit By A Bus Tomorrow', 'Do The Dad Dance' and 'Egg, Sausage, Chips and Beans', proving that there are many big numbers beyond that first release, and they were all performed with big energy from the band and the crowd were in the zone with them. It's a shame that several favourites were missed out due to the restrictions of the format, but when you have as many albums as the band does now there's always going to be omissions. With one of the best support acts I've seen in a long time and a lengthy, hit-packed and well-delivered set, you'd be hard pressed to have found a better more energetic band to see on a Saturday night. (8/10)
Another ten songs you need to hear! Alma and French Montana - Phases
Alma's best song so far, it's a mixed bag of styles and not all of them work, but there's enough in its three-and-a-half minutes to keep you entertained with a catchy chorus. (6.5/10) Embrace - The Finish Line
It doesn't really do much to combat Embrace's downbeat reputation but it's a touching, gentle ballad that hits the right spots. (6.5/10) Foo Fighters - The Sky Is A Neighborhood
A big improvement on their other recent singles, this is an upbeat and chantable number that has much more to recommend it. (6/10) Indoor Garden Party - Out of Range
'Out of Range' is a delightfully gentle and sweet pop-country number with harmonised vocals that deliver an emotive punch. (7/10) Kasabian - Ill Ray (The King)
Sounding more like classic Kasabian than their last single, this upbeat fast-paced song is a great number to sing along to and will get your feet moving! (7/10) The Lancashire Hotpots - Fussy Eater
We all know one. Another fun catchy and funny tune from the North's premiere comedy band! (6.5/10) Sam Fender - Greasy Spoon
Quite free-form and gritty, 'Greasy Spoon' has a sparky rhythm and guts that drives the track forward. (6/10) Scouting For Girls - Dancing In the Daylight
Scouting for Girls are always a bit of a guilty pleasure and never more so on this new song off their latest album. Fitting into their trademark sound this is a shameless piece of joyous pop that will get you singing along. (7.5/10) Sparks - Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
The second single from Sparks' latest album and this piano-led ballad is a delight, mixing up the emotion of the lyrics with the class of the duo's music and crisp production. (7.5/10) Tom Grennan - Royal Highness
Tom Grennan returns with this catchy pop number with a fun driving vibe. Fun. (6.5/10)
Another ten tracks we recommend! Adam Lanceley - Those Rose Tinted Days 'Those Rose Tinted Days' is a driving indie-number with a positive vibe that lifts it up, creating a strong indie feel to the piece. (6.5/10) Chromatone - Fever With a funky seventies vibe, 'Fever' boasts a catchy chorus and a great electro-synth vibe. Great. (7/10) The Everly Pregnant Brothers - Chip Pan
There's a bit of a karaoke feel to this record that makes it less appealing but in terms of witty lyrics and a retro throwback it's hard not to laugh and enjoy the parody of Kings of Leon. (6/10) Fancy Cars - Set Me On Fire
'Set Me On Fire' is a soaring indie-club number that builds up and avoids some of the expected tropes as it gets a little more dance-focussed. (6/10) Hayley McKay - Unspoken
McKay boasts some great vocal chords and when combined with this touching, well written stripped back pop ballad it shines. (7/10) The Imagineers - Utopian Dreams (Radio Edit)
There's a bit of a Muse feel to this dark sounding record, before it gets into more of a sixties-indie feel. Great and different. (6.5/10) Janet Devlin & Jason Nevins - Outernet Song (Remix)
Here is a great bouncy remix of one of our favourite songs of the year, keeping the message whilst adding a more club-friendly feeling. (7.5/10) The Lancashire Hotpots - Hotpot Funk (Don't Forget The Red Sauce)
We don't really need another Uptown Funk parody, especially one year on, but the Hotpots have recorded a cracking little parody, and though the music is more karaoke backing track than their usual offerings this is very funny and even boasts a sing-a-long section. (7/10) Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On
It's perhaps a little generic but there's something upbeat and likeable about the record that keeps you listening. A good one for the clubs. (6/10) Tony Shaw - Take Me Away (Karrades Club Mix) 'Take Me Away', in its remix form, is a catchy, fast club track that grows with each listen. Well worth a punt. (6/10)
Record live at for elusivecountryclub.com top comedy-folk band 'The Lancashire Hotpots' have released a six-track live EP featuring a selection of their hits from across their albums, from famous hits to album tracks.
The EP begins with 'The Barmaid's Baps', ticking the innuendo box alongside 'The Baking Song' which appears as track four. The live recordings are crisps and capture well the fun live sound of the band, which is a definite must see. Recent single 'Eggs, Sausage, Chips and Beans' appears second and sees the band on fun and friendly form, whilst 'Thirsty Thursday' feels much stronger in this live form. The EP wraps up with the Oasis-like ballad 'The Girl From Bargain Booze' and sing-a-long favourite and breakthrough track 'Chippy Tea'. Though many of these tracks have appeared on previous records this is something not to miss for fans of the band. (7.5/10) Download the EP free now online.
Any long time fans of the Hotpots, Lancashire’s top comedy-folk band, will know what to expect from this, their ninth studio album in a decade, and won’t be disappointed. From a spot-on and well-observed cover parody of an early Now! compilation to songs with a great selection of influences, ‘Nowt Like The Eighties’ is another tour de farce from the comedy band though as expected it doesn’t really do anything fresh from their successful formula, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Benefitting from drip-feeding several of the tracks over the last year to get them familiar to fans, some of the album feels already recognisable through tracks like ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Lancashire’s For Me’, helping the album settle in, and if you do have chance to see the video for the latter online it will certainly get the laughs. ‘Last Can Blues’ is a fun opener but is a little like the Hotpots on autopilot, but it’s rock-and-roll vibe proves the strong production values behind the band. ‘Do The Dad Dance’ is a much better start to the album, its Black Lace style and electro-funk music style much more interesting and sounds like it could be fun live. Continuing the electronic feel, ‘Eggs, Sausages, Chips and Beans’ offers a sound-a-like parody of ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’, giving it a proper Northern make-over and proves to be a pretty catchy number. Track four ‘Don’t Put Granny on the Internet’ is a classic, a sort of throw-back to their internet-referencing earlier material, with some great lyrics, rhymes and a bouncy rhythm. The album continues with its most absurd number, ‘6784’, a way of remembering your card PIN which is hilarious in its ridiculousness. ‘Black Friday’, one of the previously previewed tracks, is a fun number about the day of crazy shopping, once more showcasing the great balance between musical production and observational lyrics. ‘My Pianist’ follows ‘Has Anyone Seen My Dongle’ and ‘My Wife Is An Ann Summer’s Rep’ as the album’s innuendo-laden number, and though a little bit more forced (steady) than those previous ones, is a fun doo-wop number that ticks the ‘Carry On’ box. Reprising the food theme from earlier on ‘Fussy Eater’ and ‘It’s A Barmcake’ are two more fun tracks, the latter offering a new take on ‘Agadoo’ with the age old Facebook debate. The Stock-Aitken and Waterman styled ‘Lancashire’s For Me’ is the best song on the LP, its mix of funny lyrics and production style at its peak here. The album nears its end with ‘Stop in the Name of Fudge’, a Supremes sound-a-like about the shrinking sizes of chocolate bars which isn’t one of the best songs on the album but ties things over nicely, before things end on ‘Dibnah’, a true lighters-out ending that you may have seen on the BBC. A tribute to the famous steeplejack Fred Dibnah, Dramatic, well produced and atmospheric, this is the perfect way to wrap up the album. ‘Nowt Like The 80s’ isn’t a revolutionary album from the comedy-folk band, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from the group in terms of style and sound, but there’s plenty of great new songs to love here and the band still have a great ear for a comedy record whilst also able to create a very distinctive production style. Fans of bonus material will also get a CD of intrumentals and another live disc which includes 14 live hits including some of the biggest hits. It’s not a comprehensive set and some are cut from it I think, but it’s well recorded and captures their live spirit.
