Review: ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP at The Alley Cat: Trad Arr & The Acapella Punk

Before I could play a proper guitar, my grandad made me a cardboard one. My best mate - who also had a cardboard guitar - and I, then formed a band with which to wield our prized new non-instruments. We crossed the name of an Exploited song with the name of a toddlers TV programme, and called ourself the Playschool Barmy Army. We adapted the lyrics to our favourite punk songs so they featured the stuffed toys and dolls best known to viewers of Playschool, and proceeded to perform acapella versions of these songs to assembled friends in various locations around leafy Godalming town, vocalising any instrumental noise between the words. It all went down hill once we picked up real guitars.

In this fine tradition of non-musical musicianship, and in the absence of accompaniment by his band mates in The Outbursts, Ian Breslin has developed a fine act of his own as The Acapella Punk. Those of us assembled at the Alley Cat on Saturday night were given the pleasure of witnessing Ian's first feature length performance (at his first Harry Hill was in the audience!) in support of headline act Trad Arr. Taking his material and inspiration from the oeuvre of Billy Karloff, as he does with real instrumental backing from time to time, he sang his little heart out for a good 25mins. I was left wanting to know more about this Karloff character (real name, John 'Billy' Osborn), who is sadly no longer with us, and who as well as writing for his own bands, apparently also wrote Wait For The Blackout which is included on The Black Album by The Damned. I love that LP.

Trad Arr were a delight, too. Andy Golding was debuting his 'Stranjo', his four-stringed Fender Strat adapted by carpenter and Trad Arr violin player, Paul Warwick. The band's sound is a mix of styles, but at full tilt they come on like a folk-Roxy Music, or a folk-Velvets. Ian joined the band for an off-the-cuff number at the end, which could have gone on forever, but did finally come to an end at 10pm.

A nice bunch of people to promote; not enough of an audience, as usual; but hey, those in attendance had a great night.