Sheffielders are still in 90s band's fanclub

Review: Teenage Fanclub, The Leadmill, Sheffield
Teenage Fanclub at the LeadmillTeenage Fanclub at the Leadmill
Teenage Fanclub at the Leadmill

On their first visit to the Leadmill in 1990, Teenage Fanclub beat support band the Boo Radleys in a game of five-a-side in front of the stage.

More than 26 years later, long after the demise of the Boos, the teamwork and interplay of the much-loved Scottish combo continue to be a winning combination with loyal fans.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nowadays they live and record separately, but that special bond from being bandmates for so long is obvious.

The three songwriters/frontmen Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley and Gerard Love and complement each other so well, even if at first sound problems threaten to ruin Love's vocals, and keyboards and extra guitar are added by Finlay MacDonald. Regular drummer Francis MacDonald completes the line-up.

The songs on new album Here, especially I'm in Love, compare favourably with their mid-90s heyday, represented strongly with nearly half of 1995 album Grand Prix, including Sparky's Dream and About You and Ain't That Enough and Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From from follow-up album Songs From Northern Britain.

My Uptight Life from Howdy! in 2000 is an unexpected delight and the crowd-pleasing Star Sign and The Concept from 1991's Bandwagonesqe delight the faithful.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A storming Everything Flows ends the show where it all began in 1990.

On the bus the next day a colleague overheard a student trying to explain Teenage Fanclub to her friend.

"They play summer pop and harmonise a lot. And 93 per cent of the audience were men in their late 40s, early 50s."

I fit the demographic perfectly, so next time they play, I'll be back to cheer them on to victory once again.