Okay, there may be an element of exaggeration there, but the Wookaladies are featured in this Friday’s first episode of ‘The UK’s Best Part-Time Band’ on BBC4.
The episode apparently features the NI-Scotland-Wales semi-final (filmed at the Limelight, Belfast), which was great fun (I was there, though I didn’t see @Johnny-Concheroo, who is traditionally at everything).
The Wookas get that far – do they get further? We shall see…
Don’t forget – tonight at 9pm, BBC4. The Wookaladies up against four acts (out of hundreds) from Wales and Scotland, including GT’s Boos Band. Okay, we know who @Johnny-Concheroo would have gone for…
It’s 1969 all over again!
Thanks Colin, I enjoyed that. Proper music. That bloke on the Les Paul is giving it some welly, isn’t he?
He certainly is – and he certainly did at the live show filmed in Belfast. Can you get BBC4 online down there, JC?
Yes, we can get all BBC, ITV and C4 progs on catch-up.
I think you’ll enjoy this one. It’s a 4-parter and the Scots/wales/NI lot are in the first episode. All five of the bands featured were terrific in their own ways – one from Wales had been going since the late 60s. Rhod Gilbert noted when intro-ing onstage that their combined age was something like 812 (!). Probably the least interesting of the five (it sounded like a boozy Sunday afternoon jam in Ronnie Wood’s garage – which is not good) but they had a great story as a counterweight – good luck to ’em.
The other acts were a kind of Welsh SAHB – a very theatrical bunch whose music was sort of swampy glam rock with a very camp/OTT guitarist and a sort of Steve Harley-ish lead singer slinking around in sunglasses – and an Edinburgh ska band. Probably all in their 50s (except the female bassist on whom I suspect the camera lingered) but with AMAZING energy – high-kicking and bouncing hyperactively in black trilbys and shades throughout their set.
Wookalily are a slightly awkward performance proposition – it’s all about the music, maaan – with only frontwoman Lyndsay a natural performer. Since she’s taken up bass playing (somebody had to…) AND singing it’s rather limited her previous bouncing around approach.
So Wookalily have an uphill climb to match the big characters in the other bands. Do they reach the top of the hill, or will all these other people (most already over it, but in a good way) get there first?
Find out tonight!
Anybody see/enjoy episode one? I thought it was great – very sharply edited (in case you didn’t notice, all the live songs from the Limelight, Belfast, were edited to about 25% their actual length, but they made sense in the context of the show).
Anyway, the Boos Band are playing three shows in Belfast, June 24-26. Hurrah!