Tom Robinson Band The Junction Cambridge 6th October 2023

 

The Undertones are approaching the end of a long tour to mark the 45th anniversary of 'Teenage Kicks' the band's classic paean to the teenage condition. In fairness, on the night genuine teenagers were few and far between! Across the UK dates, support slots have been shared between the Tom Robinson Band, The Rezillos and Neville Staple's From The Specials. Come Cambridge, came TRB. The only other occasion on which I have had the pleasure to see TRB was at the 'Great British Alternative Music Festival' at Butlins in Skegness in 2019. Then, Tom, 69 years old at that point, announced that in 2020 there would be a special gig event to celebrate the bass player's 70th birthday. Of course, an unforeseen medical emergency put paid to that and so much more. So on this night, Tom, 73, takes to the stage with the support of a walking stick, the result of a recent knee replacement operation he explains. The stick is soon cast aside before Tom defiantly removes his glasses. There are some serious protest songs to be sung here tonight and the man refuses to be encumbered with such symbols of age!

Tom Robinson Band

The Junction Cambridge

6th October 2023.

'Winter of '79' opens the set, followed shortly by 'Grey Cortina', a scathing observation on a car much favoured by 'straights', members of the lad culture of the 1970's who caused regular trouble back in the day for punks or anyone that failed to conform to their standards of normality for that matter.

'Wish I had a grey Cortina

Whiplash aerial, racing trim

Cortina owner - no one meaner

Wish that I could be like him.'

One of the faster songs in the TRB arsenal, Tom explained that even some of his younger band members struggled keep up with the song. He said the challenge was to bring the song in at under two minutes. They did it! 

Tom said from the stage that over the years he had repeatedly been asked about his brother Martin. He has no brother called Martin, rather a bit of poetic licence was coming into play in the man's songwriting at the time. He did however say that his drummer did have a brother that went by that name who had sadly passed away recently, so the brilliant 'Martin' was dedicated to him. 

'Martin' was the first of two dedications on the night, the second being to the TRB stalwart guitarist Danny Kustow who died of pneumonia in 2019. The man on the guitar this night had the responsibility of delivering a brilliant 'Too Goo To Be True' in Danny's honour.

John Peel, got his first mention of the evening (no prizes for guessing where his second mention came from!*). On 'Listen to the Radio (Atmospherics)' Tom sang of his reliance on the DJ's broadcasts during a low point and a self-imposed exile in Hamburg in the early 1980's.

'Glad To Be Gay' was of course in there, along with an explosive 'Up Against The Wall'. Now, 2-4-6-8 Motorway has never been a song that I liked particularly but tonight it had an interesting twist as Tom described a motorway journey out of London to Cambridge (the town of his birth), name checking the likes of Harlow (where I toil during the week), Bishops Stortford (where I live) and Saffron Walden (where he went to school). 

The set was drawing to a close, and it was a long set for a support band... but then again support was a bit of a misnomer, this was more of a double header, certainly so gauging by the audience reaction to TRB. They closed with 'Power In The Darkness'. It was inspirational stuff, humorous and political... but not preachy, Tom Robinson is not one for lecturing from the stage, his music is quite capable of conveying the politics without the need for lengthy explanations.

I love The Undertones, and they played brilliantly as ever on the night, but on this occasion in Cambridge, TRB won convincingly on points. The Undertones case wasn't helped that there was something of an issue... the band's sound? (sound out front sounded perfect), but whatever it was, Paul looked capable of murder for the first 5 or 6 songs!

* The Understones introduced 'Teenage Kicks' with reference to John Peel, who opened the Junction venue in the early 1990's.