The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, O2 Institute, Birmingham - review with pictures

At the forefront was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, a Boston-based eight-piece that broke all the rules to define a whole new genre that the UK embraced with relish.

Quintessentially their sound is a British one, inspired by the 2-tone movement of the late 70s and the grittiness of Sabbath-esq heavy metal both of which were born from the West Midlands.

So it must have been a pleasure for the sixteen-legged behemoth to perform their unique blend of music a packed Birmingham Institute.

“Some people call me the 'Godfather of Skacore'," stated frontman Dicky Barrett.

Bragging rights are wholly justified; their hit single The Impression That I Get became synonymous with a movement that swept the globe. It’s a song that is as honest as it is humbling; the lyrics, a question of strength to the difficulty of passing on the pallbearer’s message.

The Bosstones, as their legion of fans call them, have anything but the stench of death in the air.

After 36 years of performing together, it’s clear they’re still having a riot. The face of dancer come tour manager Ben Carr says it all; an ear-to-ear smile, infectiously projected into a sea of happy people without.

It’s an interesting demographic to say the least, as teenagers and folk three times their age harmoniously belted out the words to a massive back catalogue played with pin-point accuracy.

When you have 10 albums it’s hard to please everyone but the Mighty Mighty Bosstones gave us a feast. We were fattened like suckling pigs; a non-stop rollercoaster of music with tracks from their 1989 debut Devil’s Night Out all the way though to present day.

What was particularly amazing about watching this band was their stamina, they played 25 songs in total with minimal talking between songs. The few times that Dicky Barratt addressed the audience he was projecting pure love for the support they’ve received over the years.

A highlight of the evening was during the title song for their platinum selling album Let’s Face It which has a strong message of unity: ‘We won't stand for that hate. Let's get that straight’.

Clearly one audience member didn’t get the memo and was promptly called out by the frontman for aggression, followed by a total stop in the performance.

When the music resumed more treats were in store with an excellent cover of Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now followed by the hit single that projected the Mighty Mighty Bosstones into the stratosphere.

Two encores followed; the band still fully suited to the end, which really highlights the sheer class of what we witnessed.

All we can hope is that the wait for their return isn’t too long.