80s Inc at the Charles 28th August 2015

80s Inc at the Charles 28th August 2015

I am just back from 80s Inc who were performing at The Charles just now.

First we had dinner at the Charles, we'd been delayed by Rob's work, and when we got there it was really, really crowded and we despaired of dinner. But one of the bouncers asked us what we wanted. "Dinner" we said doubtfully. He used his super bouncer vision to find us a table. It was amazing. I'd established earlier that the Charles, despite all appearances does do GF meals if asked, so we had good steaks with mash and salad and garlic sauce, and it was hot, made quickly, which considering the huge crowd was amazing. They went down really well. It's not as new or flash as some but it does solid food, has good space and a good feel.

But on to the show!  We're really fortunate with this band - all the band members are great performers, personable, feeding the audience and each other with humour, energy and the joy of the music. These are very accomplished and experienced musicians. 

Some minor difficulties initially with the good Doctor George Crisp's Kronos keyboard "Shoulda stayed with the piano" was quipped but all came right before there was significant delay. The sound also was a bit mushy in the first set, but they mostly fixed that.

530 people were allowed in, this venue is bigger than the Herdsman but because apparently every body loves 80's music and so they should, and these folks do it so well they were having to turn people away at the door, they were full up.

Lucky for us Rob and I were two people who were let in. Although our tickets were complimentary this is a band I will pay to see.  For one thing, they're consummate performers, for another, they are able to capture the sense and spirit of the era. They're playing 80's music and doing it with  joie de vivre and it's quite infectious because 3 or 4 people out of 5 were dancing.

They're very generous, with their music, I'm looking at the playlist and what you get is 3 sets of around 11  songs. Some of them they'd never performed before too, so they're keeping it fresh.

My feet are very sore and gave out half way through the 3rd last song.  But the music's so good you just get picked up by it!

Highlights were Down Under (Men at Work), complete with flute by Louise Tayler-Lloyd, sung by the ever golden voiced Earl Cole, I Ran (Flock of Seagulls) again sung by Mr Cole. Ghostbusters was a real crowd pleaser too, with Quentin Edmonds giving us quite a show! Louise sang Heaven (Must be There) (Eurogliders) and as always with this band it's not just a cover, but a song that is imbued with heart.

So many good ones - these are just ones that stand out in my mind at 1.15am after the show.

There's going to be another performance on the 20th of November, and I'm looking forward to it. Tickets will be going on sale sometime later today, and I would get in there quickly if I were you.

I wonder if Duran Duran's Planet Earth might get a showing in their next concert?

80s Inc are:
Earl Cole: lead vocals
Louise Tayler-Lloyd: vocals, saxophone and flute
Quentin Edmonds: guitar
Kevin Stevens: bass and vocals
Mark Simpson: drums
George Crisp: keyboards

8.5/10 Fantastic and front row seats at the XTC vs Adam Ant showdown on the Sid and Nancy scale.