Party At The Palace

Day one of this annual festival in West Lothian threw up a host of stars with fine pedigrees.

A case in point was Carol Decker, who reprised the set she'd performed not far away at 80s Calling in Dundee seven days earlier to light the blue touch paper on the day's events.

The T'Pau legend is enjoying a real renaissance, with the new songs in her armoury pointing to some potentially exciting developments in the near future for fans of classic pop.

Another outfit with a 35-year-plus backstory who've been putting in the hard gigging yards recently are Gun.

The Glasgow hard rockers blast into orbit at Linlithgow with the banging anthems Don't Say It's Over and All Fired Up, before bringing it down a shade with the mid-paced Falling – the latter pair both from last year's Hombres album.

Clearly a combination of the scorching conditions and the band's recent hectic schedule has left beaming lead singer Dante Gizzi, who opts to keep his coat on, a tad befuddled as he makes a point of excessively rolling every 'r'.

"I don't know why I'm trying to accentuate my Scottish accent," he deadpans. "It must be because of all the foreign countries we've played in recently."

Not that there was any quibbling over Gizzi's vocal delivery, his voice sounding as powerful as it's done since Gun released their debut single Better Days in 1989.

That track felt instantly cliched even back then, but its sheer earnestness has seen it endure and it's certainly a highlight for many at PATP's excellent new-look site as Dante's brother Jools and recent recruit Ruaraidh MacFarlane riff away for all they're worth.

Scots songsmith Callum Beattie joins the five-piece as third guitarist for a raucous take on Cameo's Word Up, giving the younger element at the side of the stage a chance to catch up with one of their idols.

The cover rocks, even if it lacks the original's freaky edge. Gun don't do quirky, they're all about rock's age-old tradition
of macho posturing, an approach that's as far away from Sleeper as it's possible to get.

Synonymous with mid-90s Britpop, the London band forged their reputation on the back of lyrical fulcrum and whispering vocalist Louise Wener's insightful observations on the peccadilloes of doomed relationships.

Thirty years on from their heyday, memorable offerings like Lie Detector, Nice Guy Eddie and Delicious ease a largely unsuspecting audience in, the frontwoman's subtle couplets one moment licentious, the next stinging.

Sleeper's delicate melodies remain, although it's questionable if they ever had an eye on the dancefloor to the extent that's evident on a bouncy The Sun Also Rises, a track off their 2019 comeback album The Modern Age.

A sparkly blouse-wearing Wener informs the onlookers that it's "a song about letting all your cares and worries drift away", and the four-piece ram home the point with What Do I Do Now, the familiar intro to the 1995 hit further elevating their set.

"Okay, we're going to play some Britpop, I guess," a reticent Louise pipes up ahead of a mighty Inbetweener, although pinning down the year they recorded proves a challenge.

"It was so long ago I can't remember," she chuckles, but it doesn't matter anyway. Delivered here with verve the angular groover rightly stands out as one of a diverse scene's lost classics.

Revisiting their cover of Blondie classic Atomic as part of a medley with Love Will Tear Us Apart wins Sleeper further brownie points from the partying throng ahead of a turn from the Bootleg Beatles.

The tribute band certainly provides an authentic recapturing of the Fab Four's earlier years with plenty of singalong opportunities, an objective that also seems never far from Tom Meighan's thoughts.

"This is the first festival I've played since the old band," the wired former Kasabian singer declares, rampaging across the stage as his backing musicians crank out the kind of frenzied electro-rock stylings that saw the Leicester outfit's self-titled debut album earn them their big breakthrough in 2004.

Recent solo salvoes like Don't Give In, We Can Do It and The Exorcist certainly nestle comfortably alongside spaced classics such as Fire, Empire and Shoot The Runner, and a delirious crowd lap it all up.

Meighan comes across as every inch the out of control rock star he's always wanted to be, playing to the gantry every step of the way with his loutish antics.

He keeps the big, brash early Kasabian singles LSF and Club Foot until near the end, with recent single Movin' On, a glam rock stomper if ever there was one, hinting at a brighter future following some troubled times.

Bringing it home at Linlithgow are Squeeze, who successfully deliver a feelgood set with the kind of cross-generational appeal required in the circumstances.

Led by legendary songwriters Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, the seven musicians are joined by backing vocalist Danica Dora to set off on a romp through the London band's bumper collection of timeless hits, dating right back to 1978.

Black Coffee In Bed, Is That Love and Annie Get Your Gun are warmly received, with the sweet lilt of more recent offering Innocence In Paradise providing a brief chill out ahead of signature tune Cool For Cats.

The addition of electric accordion gives Goodbye Girl a delightful eastern European-type twist, while the poise and poignancy seems to linger in the sultry night air during a simply sublime Labelled With Love.

Tempted provides frontman Tilbrook the chance top launch into a bluesy guitar solo, with a whirling, Hammond-led Hourglass sets up a steamy Take Me I'm Yours.

It all draws to an odd close, with an interminable band intro section followed by a bit of call and response involving the singer and the audience before Squeeze abruptly depart.

By that stage, though, the job's already been done.


Photo credit: shotbyagunnphotography.com.