The Bluebells

Like most people at Belfast’s Black Box venue I had come to hear only one song. Come on, you know it. The Bluebells - big hit in the 1980s? The one from the Volkswagen ad? The song your mum and dad sings with gusto at every birthday party and wedding? No..? Well, you will have to wait. As did the couple of hundred seated punters.

This, we were reliably informed by lead singer Ken McCluskey, was the first time the group had performed in Belfast for over 40 years. A lot has changed in that time, not least the overhaul of the city’s Cathedral Quarter which back then encompassed little more than a run down boozer populated by punks literally bonding over their love of Evo Stik, boarded up commercial businesses and burnt out houses.

Now one of Britain’s most vibrant tourist areas (traps?) replete with overflowing bars and restaurants, art galleries and live music venues and the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival where this performance was only one element of a fortnight packed with a diverse programme of events to showcase the best of comedy, literature, film, theatre and the visual arts generally.
The festival is now in its 25th year but has some way to go to match the 40 or so years this Scottish combo has been in existence. So naturally the band have changed from their salad days as fresh-faced, floppy haired Scots scallywags.

Now more velvet eiderdown than underground, the cardy wearing three-piece has dispensed with the tinnitus-bothering band and only guitar and harmonica are employed to envision their eighties era songwriting Everest.

And such a speedy climb up the charts it was. But it took this gig to remind everyone of what a fabulous back catalogue they could draw upon.

They kicked off with My Daddy was an Engineer - a somewhat low-key number about well, McCluskey's day being an engineer in the shipyard in Glasgow's Govan yards which was pointed out to us in a laboured introduction just in case anyone was in doubt.

This became a feature of the evening where each song was heralded by a potted history of its conception and relevance to the band’s Lanarkshire roots.

This approach can sometimes grate as it's the music that is the key attractor, but it dovetailed surprisingly well with the laid back vibe of a seated audience and an acoustic session.

Then came Forever Young, the group's first single (charted at 98) , a beautifully crafted tune that tugs on sentimental heartstrings.

Many of the songs tonight came from that eighties era which saw them enjoy their greatest success. Forgotten classics like Cath and I’m Falling had everyone singing along and soon it was time for ‘the one’.

But a couple of tracks from the little-known 2023 album,The Bluebells in the 21st Century, made an appearance - Engineer being one - but good as they were they failed to strike the right nostalgic note.

There can't be many people on the planet who don't know and love the iconic song Young at Heart, even if they don't know who wrote it. This crowd certainly did and were very appreciative to be able to sing it in the company with its creators.

Once you get past the fact it looks like you are watching Father Ted and Dougal onstage with Fyfe Robertson on guest vocals, anyone doubting the durability of the Bluebells back catalogue of classics would be backing the wrong (lovely) horse.