Quireboys + The Wynntown Marshals

Glasgow Oran Mor, 25th April 2010

Spike from the Quireboys

I knew there was something wrong with 2010. We're midway through April and I've not yet seem my favourite perennially touring rock'n'roll rogues the Quireboys.

Well, tonight I'm in for a treat, for not only do I get to see them in the almost luxurious confines of Glasgow's Oran Mor, but I also get to hear a rare acoustic outing of their classic back catalogue.

First up, however, we have Edinburgh country rockers The Wynntown Marshalls. Edinburgh's not exactly renowned for its love of all things ‘yee-ha', but they treat us to a pleasant set of foot-tapping hoe down tunes, including a lovely cover of LA Gun's ‘Ballad of Jayne', which strips away the mawkish sentiment of the original to create a movingly nostalgic love song.

Talking of nostalgia, when the Quireboys squeeze their way onto the tiny stage, it's like Top of the Pops circa 1989 all over again. Hooray! Except this time, Griff, Paul and Spike are perched precariously on stools, and the usual ear bleeding raucous racket is replaced by a more mellow, lo-fi country vibe.

This tour celebrates the release of new(ish) album Halfpenny Dancer, a charming and eclectic mix of reworked B-sides, previous songs and unexpected covers, all given the acoustic treatment with traditional Quireboys heart and soul.

This means that, for once, we're fairly light on tracks from A Bit Of What You Fancy – although it's wonderful to hear songs you know backwards, such as ‘Long Time Coming', ‘Misled' and ‘Roses and Rings', given a new lease of life.

Instead we get to hear numbers that I never thought I'd experience live – I'd have happily driven to Glasgow (in the rain, of course) just to hear the soul wrenching rendition of ‘King of New York', one of my absolute favourite Quireboys songs. ‘Pretty Girls' sounds much better now than it did on the B-side of ‘7 O'Clock' (even if they still haven't finished it) and ‘Late Night Saturday Call', one of the stand-out tracks on the Homewreckers and Heartbreakers album, is simply gorgeous.

Of course, no-one can sell a ballad like Oor Spike, his raw voice just oozing loss and lonely nights ‘til you can almost smell the cheap booze and heartache. His take on Leo Sayer's ‘I Can't Stop Loving You' would make Simon Cowell melt, while the final all-out version of ‘I Don't Love You Anymore' (surely the saddest song ever written) would reduce even Glee's Sue Sylvester to a blubbering mess.

Along with the tears and beers, the banter is also in full flow. After a rousing rendition of Frankie Miller's ‘Bottle of Whisky', Spike concedes that last night he fought 15 cans of Strongbow and the Strongbow won. ‘That's why we call his St Rongbow,' Griff quips. Ho ho.

With lines like that, they're never going to appear on the Royal Variety Performance, but the Quireboys are, nevertheless, a national treasure, meriting an OBE for services to British rock'n'roll. Nobody can light up a room or tug at the heartstrings the way they can; nor embody so perfectly the spirit of hedonistic tour bus living while at the same time remaining so consistently and deceptively hard working.

And nobody else in the 21st century flies the flag for classic good time rock'n'roll with quite the shambolic panache. Raise a glass, my friends, and drink to the Quireboys. And thank them for reminding us that sometimes it really is a treat to be alive.

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