Terrorvision: growing old disgracefully

Approaching Shepherds Bush Empire for Terrorvision’s Easter Sunday showdown there is a queue snaking around the green.

But the crowds are massing for Walkabout next door and the revellers reeling on the road outside all have Aussie accents - not that distinctive Bradford twang. It's inside the Empire that you hear that northern drawl in abaundance, as that town’s favourite sons return once more from the self-imposed oblivion that they seem unable to sustain after originally disbanding back in 2001.

Opening for Terrorvision tonight are Rebel Yell – all punky edginess, dressed in designer catwalk good-looks and breathing the fire of Johnny Cash, Stray Cats, Elvis and The Cramps.

After a longer-than-comfortable pause the blue lights flash and Terrorvision are moving front and centre. Too late however for the first casualty of the night however as a plaintiff, ‘I can’t see…’ turns into a swoon and one young fan is pulled unconscious from the floor.

Growing old disgracefully, Tony, Mark and Leigh all have that arrogant swagger earned through years of hard gigging toil. David ‘Shutty’ Shuttleworth rages hard behind the drumkit – a little rounder than his bandmates, but still brimming with the anger of faded youth. Milton is the new kid on the keys – looking unnervingly similar to Alabama 3’s Spirit with a Towers of London style makeover.

Tonight is a playthrough of the seminal ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’, and it is as if the album was originally written to form the backbone of a great setlist. The pace is almost perfect, as Alice, Oblivion and Stop the Bus drag the crowd kicking and screaming back into the mid-nineties moshpits of oh-so-many sweaty venues and festival tents.

Tony plays the crowd with his usual ease, turning his natural charm on like a lightswitch, seeming to hold half a dozen conversations with people in the front row at the same time as battering the packed venue with tune after tune. Every so often he hands over vocal duties to the crowd so that everyone gets the chance to be part of the ‘instant live’ recording that will be available immediately after the show.

Leaping like a loon his energy levels have not diminished with the passing of years, and he goads the crowd regularly to follow his lead and mosh or flail as if their lives depended on it. As the night moves on there are more and more bodies hurling themselves across heads towards the barriers, and security are forced to earn their keep.

After the Some People Say and What Makes You Tick round off the HTMFAIP experience the lights fade to black for a second and then flare back to reveal Rebel Yell once again perched on their mini-stage to the side of the drum riser. It’s time for another dose of Rockabilly Country Punk.

And then following this intermission we’re off into Tequila land and then the uncharted territory of a couple of b-sides and rareities (Suffocation and Mr Buskerman), followed by a return to the familiar world of Celebrity Hitlist, Josephine, D’ya Wanna go Faster, My House and Perseverance.

Tony wears a fetching shawl thrown on stage by a fan for the last number and treats another member of the crowd to some close-up photos as he grabs their camera and takes the time to get some candid close-ups of the other members of the band.

Overall this ranks as a top gig by a band who remain frozen in their prime. See you back down the front next time around!