Sleeper / The Bluetones, The Ritz, 13th August 2021

Well there’s no denying it is there, this is a nostalgia gig. Not to be confused with older established bands who continue to record and tour… as The Bluetones themselves do, but this is different. Sleeper and Bluetones both playing their debut album’s in full. This of course is a great idea. Both Smart and Expecting to Fly are great classic slabs of Britpop perfection. It’s a duel headline tour, but once I’ve proved I’m not infected and we’re inside the always lovely Manchester Ritz, we start with Start, appropriately and as the set starts it dawns on me that Sleeper were my first proper gig back in ‘95 (at The Boardwalk). The audience has changed a lot in those years, but I’m definitely one of the younger ones here. So yes it’s nostalgic but it’s also great. In truth the Sleeper-blokes aren’t always super tight, but they look like they’re having a blast and genuinely chuffed to be doing this and as the set/album goes on they really hit the spot. Wener was always the star though and that’s still the case. It has to be said she sounds great, those soft breathy vocals still effortlessly delivering tales of youthful follies. For 45 minutes I’m taken back 20-odd years, with Bedhead, Lady Love Your Countryside, Vegas and of course Inbetweener, but it’s Poor Flying Man that really makes me smile. To be fair though it all sounds great, really bloody fantastic in fact. Pure unbound joy. So much so that I’ll forgive them the “Greatest Hits” bit that follows… sorry but they did peak with the debut. They play another 45 minutes though and it’s clear to me that I’m only really a fan of the first album. It’s worth not buggering off to the bar though for What Do I Do Now? and their excellent cover of Atomic, with a cheeky interlude of Love Will Tear Us Apart to really whip up the crowd. The whole thing’s a real celebration and it’s momentarily weird to think that there’s another band to play. In truth, as much as I love Smart and it soundtracked my teens, it’s The Bluetones and Expecting To Fly that made me buy the ticket. Sleeper have set the bar pretty damn high though. Of course Bluetones meet that bar immediately and I’m struck by just what a grown up sounding album this is. It’s a bit of a jolt from Smart, but sounds amazing. Morriss’ voice as glorious as ever and as those guitars sweep, build, dip, it’s majestic right out of the gates. If I’ve one tiny negative point, it’s that they’re not quite as fun to watch visually, but Morriss’ banter is on point threatening to take the roof off and by the second track Bluetonic I’m singing along word for word and I don’t stop. There are some gremlins, with malfunctioning peddle boards and a full stage blackout that sees the roadies grab the torches to light the band as they plough through. Somehow it only adds to it, the band are so fucking tight, it’s like a challenge to The Ritz’s electric grid, ‘Whatever you’ve got we can match you, we’re the fucking Bluetones we’ve got this!’, as Eds Chesters brings Things Change to a rousing finale on drums. It strikes me again here that I saw this album tour back in the day too (‘96 Academy), but I doubt they sounded as good as this that night, surely it’s just not possible? The gremlins admit defeat as Morriss announces “Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Side 2” and starts busting moves to Can’t Be Trusted and as the opening chords of Slight Return bounce around the room it goes off. Sounding absolutely beautiful with the crowd in full voice. As Time and Again brings part one to a close, I find I’m utterly knackered. They rattled through a solid hour in the blink of an eye and what an hour it was. Again we get another set to follow, but it’s a little shorter than Sleeper’s despite having a much larger catalog to dive in to, but for me at least packs more recognisable crowd pleasers, including a truncated version of Every Breath You Take. As the lights come up I feel elated, a bit knackered, a little horse (no pony jokes) and very thankful that we have live music back. Old or new, it’s a gift.