SUPERGRASS + THE SIXX – CHALK, BRIGHTON 5.5.25
When Supergrass first announced their warm-up gig at Chalk in Brighton as a prelude to their 30th anniversary celebration ‘I Should Coco’ UK tour, I thought it was about time to relive the happy memories of having seen them riding the crest of the wave back in 1996, when they played the V96 festival at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. Their setlist that day was: ‘Going Out’, ‘We’re Not Supposed To’, ‘I’d Like To Know’, ‘Odd?’, ‘Lose It’, ‘Strange Ones’, ‘Alright’, ‘Time’, ‘Richard III’, ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, ‘Melanie Davis’ and ‘Lenny’. The other acts on the bill that we enjoyed that day (Saturday 17th August) were Pulp, Cast, Gary Numan, Stereolab, and Jonathan Richman. I have seen all of these acts live in action again, (except possibly Cast), but I certainly haven’t had the pleasure of Supergrass’ company again, but now thanks to SJM promoters booking them to play my hometown, I eagerly grabbed the opportunity.
Supergrass originally formed in Oxford as a trio back in 1993 and became one of the most influential bands of the 1990s. For the majority of the band’s tenure, the line-up consisted of Gaz Coombes (lead vocals, guitar), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, backing vocals). Then in 2002 Gaz’s brother Rob Coombes officially joined the band as their keyboardist. The band originally ran from 1993 to 2010, but after a nine year hiatus, the lads got it on again and a further outing was had from 2019 until 2022. The guys then reconvened Supergrass last year.
During their tenure they have only released a half dozen studio albums, with ‘I Should Coco’ being the first of these. To say that this album brought immediate fame is an understatement, as not only did it reach No.1 in the UK Albums chart, but it was their label’s (Parlophone Records) best-selling debut album since the Beatles’ ‘Please Please Me’ back in 1963. ‘I Should Coco’ gained platinum status by selling over a million copies worldwide and 500,000 in the UK. The most successful single released from the album is ‘Alright’, which peaked at No.2 on the UK singles chart and it too gained platinum status. ‘I Should Coco’ was nominated for ‘Mercury Prize Best Album’ in 1995 and the following year ‘Alright’ won the ‘Best Contemporary Song’ at the Ivor Novello Awards.
The following four Supergrass studio albums all hit the UK Top 10: ‘In It For The Money’ (No.2 1997), ‘Supergrass’ (No.3 1999), ‘Life On Other Planets’ (No.9 2002), ‘Road To Rouen’ (No.9 2005) and 2008’s ‘Diamond Hoo Ha’ peaked at No.19. It’s also worth adding that the band’s ‘Supergrass Is 10’ compilation album made it to No.4 back in 2004. It’s fair to state that Supergrass remains a cultural force, 30 years after their debut.
As you would expect, tonight’s gig at Chalk is a sold out affair, and after an enjoyable support set from The Sixx (see below), followed by an enjoyable selection of Northern Soul classics between bands, Supergrass take to the stage to the sound of Sweet’s ‘Blockbuster’. It’s 8:30pm and they perform the whole ‘I Should Coco’ album in its entirety and in the correct running order with the addition of a handful of other classics as an encore. So that’s an 18 track setlist, which ran for 81 minutes until 9:51pm.
Gaz in his trademark black hat addresses the crowd with “Allo Brighton! Alright?” and they therefore start with ‘I’d Like To Know’ which commences “I like to wake up on a Saturday, say “Hello you”; A cup of coffee and I smoke a cigarette or two; Never had it so good; Never got it – it could be love before”. It’s a rocky number with guitar riffs akin to the Sex Pistols, which is most pleasing. On conclusion, the crowd erupt with approval and Gaz says “Well Good Evening. How you feeling? Alright?” and then the lads launched into their debut single ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ which dropped just shy of the UK Top 40 back in 1994. Again, they have that Sex Pistols feeling, which until now, I’ve never picked up on before! No wonder Gaz later mentioned them being a “punk rock band”.
There’s a roll of the drums from Danny that leads the guys into ‘Mansize Rooster’ which was the second Supergrass single. At the beginning, it reminds me of Dexys Midnight Runners and on its conclusion the crowd erupt with pleasure, as they do for every single number. It’s one of those nights! “We are young, we run green; Keep our teeth nice and clean; See our friends, see the sights; Feel alright” are the next four lines and is quite predictably their No.2 smash hit single ‘Alright’ and instantly memories fill my mind of their terrific video which was shot at Portmeirion in Wales where ‘The Prisoner’ tv show was filmed. The trademark piano chords are enough to get anyone in the zone and thus a large majority of the crowd sang along.
‘Lose It’ (another 1995) single was up next and the guitar intro reminds me of The Rolling Stones meets Slade. This is followed by their Top 10 ‘Lenny’ single, with its catchy “I’ve been around and around, but I got nowhere to go now” intro line. It’s another rockin’ tune that still reminds me of Slade. With so many singles on the A Side of the album, it’s no wonder Gaz states the set is “top heavy”. But that’s not to say that any of the non-single tunes are of lesser quality. In fact, I can’t recall anything substandard during the whole performance. There’s another slice of 1990’s alternative rock with the arrival of the varying paced ‘Strange Ones’ tune. After which Gaz proudly announces “Ladies and gentlemen, the bells of Carfax, Oxford” and the church bells of St Martin’s Tower ring out across the venue, followed by Rob (Gaz’s brother) on the keys and Mick on bass, for some interplay on ‘Sitting Up Straight’ and the lads then rocked on out again.
It was now the turn of the slower melodic ‘She’s So Loose’ which certainly witnessed a strong vocal delivery from Gaz. Much to my surprise, after this there was a change around with Danny stepping out from behind the drumkit and donning a bass guitar. Meanwhile Gaz straps on an acoustic guitar, and Mick switches to electric guitar for ‘We’re Not Supposed To’, which commences with an electronic backing beat. As you would expect, this has a different feeling from all of the previous tunes and yet it’s still an enjoyable song, and thankfully they didn’t even try to actually emulate ‘The Laughing Gnome’ style speeded up vocals in it. After this, the lads return to their normal instruments and Gaz kicks off ‘Time’ on his guitar. It’s the other side of the ‘Alright’ single and it’s a slow chugger of a tune which to me has a John Lennon solo material vibe. Actually, while I come to think of it, both Gaz and Mick were changing their guitars and bass virtually after each tune.
Gaz then tells us that they haven’t played the next tune, ‘Sofa (Of My Lethargy)’, live for 30 years (as they were a punk band) and for this they called on the assistance of Toby who is one of their technician crew, who came out front and strapped on a guitar. “We love you Toby” was shouted by a punter or two. This track is the longest on ‘I Should Coco’ by over two minutes and if I didn’t know it and had to guess who it was, I’d opt for The Beatles circa 1967-69. It’s that good! Cotton head drumsticks were in use for this track by Danny. The aptly titled ‘Time To Go’ rounds off the album and main part of this evening’s live set. Danny is back on bass guitar again and Mick has again switched to electric guitar, and Gaz is once more on acoustic guitar. It’s a strum-along tune with joint lead vocals from Gaz and Mick. I honestly have to state that this album is a timeless masterpiece and hasn’t dated one bit. The quartet take their leave…..
After crowd pleas of a return, the guys dutifully comply and deliver a handful of songs from their second and third albums, commencing with the haunting ‘Moving’ from their 1999 ‘Supergrass’ album. It’s initially quite laid back in an Oasis kinda way but then it seriously kicks in. It’s clearly a crowd favourite and no surprise it cracked the Top 10 Single Chart at the time. After this we are rewarded with their other No.2 UK hit single in the form of the rock solid ‘Richard III’ from 1997’s ‘In It For The Money’ album, which really is them at full on pace. It’s their ‘Song 2’ Blur and ‘Vertigo’ U2 number, if you catch my drift. I enjoyed Rob’s keys being at the fore on this as well.
Things got a tad comical next as whilst tuning up, Mick and Danny set about performing the iconic intro of ‘Public Image’ by Public Image Ltd. For me, this still is the best thing Lydon ever recorded, and it would have been awesome if Supergrass had actually had a go at the whole number. ‘Late In The Day’ from 1997’s ‘In It For The Money’ album finally got started and was followed (after a brief keys and guitar strum) by another cut from the same album, this time it’s ‘Sun Hits The Sky’ with the iconic “I know a place where the sun hits the sky” opening line and later “I am a doctor, I’ll be your doctor” that easily could be mistaken for Bono. Surprisingly this track only made No.10 in the singles chart for some reason. It’s easily a Top 3 tune and was for me their track of the night! And there I was thinking it was going to be ‘Alright’, but Rob’s psychedelic keys swung it!
The quartet signed off with their ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’ single from 1999’s self-titled album. The crowd merrily sang along and it was great to be amongst these fans giving it their all. On this Gaz’s vocals gave the impression of early 1970’s David Bowie and Marc Bolan. I’m going to be totally honest here….although I was quite looking forward to catching Supergrass in action again after all this time, as far as I can recall, back at V96 they were for me outshone by Gary Numan, Pulp, Stereolab and Jonathan Richman, but this evening’s concert was even better than their V96 set! There! I honestly never expected to say that! A great night out!!
Supergrass:
Gaz Coombes – lead vocals, electric & acoustic guitars
Mick Quinn – bass, guitar, backing and lead vocals
Danny Goffey – drums, percussion, bass guitar
Rob Coombes – keyboards, piano
Supergrass setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘Blockbuster’ by Sweet
‘I’d Like To Know’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Caught By The Fuzz’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Mansize Rooster’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Alright’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Lose It’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Lenny’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Strange Ones’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Sitting Up Straight’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘She’s So Loose’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘We’re Not Supposed To’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Time’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Sofa (Of My Lethargy)’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
‘Time To Go’ (from 1995 ‘I Should Coco’ album)
(encore)
‘Moving’ (from 1999 ‘Supergrass’ album)
‘Richard III’ (from 1997 ‘In It For The Money’ album)
‘Late In The Day’ (from 1997 ‘In It For The Money’ album)
‘Sun Hits The Sky’ (from 1997 ‘In It For The Money’ album)
‘Pumping On Your Stereo’ (from 1999 ‘Supergrass’ album)
Support this evening came from new outfit The Sixx, which comprises Maxine Talulah (vocals), Marty Love (drums), Ricky Mcguire (bass), David Blackman (keyboards) and Calle Engelmark (guitar & vocals). Yep, there’s just five of them despite their name. They dropped their debut single, ‘Shadows’ on 23rd December last year. Written by the band, ‘Shadows’ is a powerful and introspective song that explores themes of regret, self-reflection, and redemption. The heartfelt lyrics take listeners on a journey of confronting the past, finding strength through adversity, and embracing the possibility of a brighter future.
The Sixx are a dynamic band blending heartfelt Americana, soulful rock, and acoustic storytelling, drawing inspiration from legends like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty. With a lineup of seasoned musicians, the band delivers a rich and authentic sound that resonates with audiences everywhere. Fans will be glad to learn that the band are currently in the studio crafting their debut album, so stay tuned for that announcement.
The Sixx take to the Chalk stage at 7:21pm and perform 8 unreleased tunes during their 33 minute set. Thankfully the venue is already rammed for their performance and no doubt will be winning new fans. The lighting and sound are both good and the quintet are positioned towards the front of the expansive stage, so everyone is able to see them. The first thing that takes my fancy is the Roland V-Combo VR-730 (which delivers top-quality organ, electric piano, acoustic piano, and synth sounds via a 73-note waterfall keyboard), as well as a Roland RD-300.
They kick off with ‘Time To Shine’ which surprisingly is a really rockin’ number. Having checked out their website beforehand, I was expecting solid Americana, and thankfully this arguably wasn’t the case for seven of this evening’s tunes. One tune down and the crowd have surprisingly really taken to the band so early, which is very impressive. ‘Save Your Tears’ is up next and it’s another really solid number with clear and powerful vocals from Maxine and there’s a slight 1970’s David Bowie musical vibe going on here. Selection three is ‘You Don’t Know’ with its repeated “You don’t know what you’re looking for” earworm chorus. It’s another solid rocking number that is drumming led with a whiff of American (not Americana) vibe going on. They then took the “pace right down” as Maxine informed us for ‘Have Faith In Me’ which is an Americana tinged tune and my least favourite of the performance.
Thankfully, the uptempo faster beats were back with a vengeance with the arrival of ‘Where Did You Go’ which benefits from some rather meaty proto punk guitar riffage. It really is evident that they all are accomplished musicians and Maxine clearly knows how to hold court. After this Maxine then announces the next track as ‘This Is Who We Are’ and this has a real 1978 new wave feeling to it and I assumed that this would be my choice cut of the set, but I was wrong as the arrival of ‘Roots’ secured that accolade. It kicks off with a really meaty bass guitar intro from Ricky and then Marty’s drumming accompanies him. It has the feeling of a late Jam or early Style Council track, despite containing some impressive whaaa whaaa guitar twangs. It’s another confidently delivered vocal from Maxine, when when not singing taps away on the tambourine, almost as a prop. There’s time for one more final number and this is ‘What Were You Thinking’, which reminded me of early Blondie but with a more bluesy vibe. It’s another corker. Being perfectly honest, The Sixx were much better than I thought they were going to be and I certainly wasn’t alone judging by the loud applause as they vacated the stage.
The Sixx will be making a welcome return to Brighton on Sunday 12th October, when they will be sharing the bill with The Dirty Strangers for a matinee performance at The Prince Albert. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased HERE.
The Sixx:
Maxine Talulah – lead vocals & tambourine
Marty Love – drums
Ricky Mcguire – bass
David Blackman – keyboards
Calle Engelmark – guitar & vocals
The Sixx setlist:
‘Time To Shine’
‘Save Your Tears’
‘You Don’t Know’
‘Have Faith In Me’
‘Where Did You Go’
‘This Is Who We Are’
‘Roots’
‘What Were You Thinking’
