16 December 2017 (gig)
24 December 2017
I’ve been aware of The Spitfires for a couple of years now. I’d heard and liked their debut album ‘Response’ in parts but it wasn’t until their second LP, ‘A Thousand Times’, that I really started to take notice
I’d not managed to see them the last couple of times they’d played and so when I heard they were playing the Borderline, I locked it in the diary
For me, the Borderline is the best live music venue in London. It was my first time back since it’s renovation earlier this year and I was delighted to see the make-over had retained the character of the place whilst improving the bar and modernising the chill out area at the back. As I entered the venue at 9pm, just a few minutes before the band were about to hit the stage, it was great to see the Borderline had also lost none of its atmosphere as the packed out crowd sung along to the tunes being belted out by the dj
Bang on 9.15, the band literally came charging on to the stage. Lead vocalist, Billy Sullivan uttered some words which I didn’t quite catch but it probably wasn’t far off something like, ‘Let’s ave it!’. It was clear they meant business.
They tore straight into a raw version of ‘Tell Me’, with Billy leading the way with energy and determination.
The Spitfires wear their hearts on their sleeves and play the music they love. What makes them different from other bands with similar influences is the quality and variety of the tunes. They can knock out tunes played at 100 miles an hour, slow melodic numbers and even heartfelt acoustic tracks. The crowd are kept riveted every step of the way.
‘So Long’ was the highlight for me but ‘The Suburbs’ was also great and the acoustic version ‘4am’ deserves a special mention as it has clearly become a crowd favourite although personally I still prefer it played with the whole band
A couple of encores and the band call it a night to rapturous applause.
I can see The Spitfires getting bigger and bigger as their name gets out there. I’ll definitely be back for more and I can’t wait to hear album number 3 which is apparently set for late 2018
