Cork’s Sultans of Ping are what can only be described as something of a slow-burning, the opposite of an overnight success. When they were together before splitting in 1996 they had one solitary Top 40 single (and it’s not the one you think) and the same level of success album wise, but here we are 28 years later and they are close to selling out the huge Manchester Ritz, now that they have kinda reformed (if you class one or two gigs a year as reforming). They are here tonight celebrating their debut record, the fantastic Casual Sex In The Cineplex, which contains the indie-disco classic floor-filler ‘Where’s Me Jumper?’
As an extra bonus, unusually with these type of looking back at old album gigs, we have a non-nostalgic support act. In tonight’s case it is soon to be massive fellow Irishman Meryl Streek, who is about to release his second album on the back of his underground hit, 2022’s debut 796.
And to use a comedian analogy, it’s similar to watching Stewart Lee before Joe Pasquale, the absolute darkness before the jolly light, horrific tales about slum landlords, the abuses of the Catholic Church and deceased relatives, prior to songs about Brian Clough and Japanese females.
Streek’s confidence shines through from the very beginning of his half an hour, starting with a couple of new songs and you can tell he’s been playing in front of bigger crowds recently as he is even more of a hypnotic watch than last time I saw him earlier this year in a much smaller room.
It’s a set filled with anger and showcases his fantastic way with lights (or lack of them)and in a bold move for a support act he ends up in the crowd for ‘Paddy’, and an incendiary ‘Death To The Landlord’ , before ending with one of the best singles of last year, ‘If This Is Life’. An exceptional talent, roll on the new record.
In between sets sees a scanning of the crowd, and it is a lot younger in parts than you would expect. It does the heart good to see people who were not even born when it was out screaming the words to Carter USM‘s ‘Sheriff Fatman’’. At this point we ponder as to whether the Sultans have a burgeoning fan base that have all got into the whole record since the original split (as at the time they were back playing tiny venues) or is it just people here for the one (non) hit that has been used for such things as the walk-on music for one of the contestants on The Masked Singer.
At 9:30, upon bursting into Casual Sex opener ‘Back In A Tracksuit’ we get our answer. I’ve heard this song live on numerous occasions, but never with such gusto have I heard it sang back to the band. And this sets the theme for the evening, every song from that record is treated like a number one single.
They follow this with songs from each of their subsequent records; the title track from 1994’s Teenage Drug and ‘Mescaline’ from their final album, 1996’s Good Year For Trouble, with only slightly more subdued responses (this may be due to the fact that albums two and three are not available on Spotify for some reason).
“It’s good to be back here in the North-West” says frontman Niall O’Flaherty, who is looking both good for his age and someone who you know that in 20 years will look even more like Mick Jagger than he currently does, as he slurps from one of his (at least) three drinks he has on the go onstage. And he just looks delighted to be there.
‘Give Him A Ball And A Yard Of Grass’ sees the first stage dive of the evening, before ‘Indeed You Are’ and ‘Psychopath’ (which sees O’Flaherty strewn on the floor) start to give the Ritz’s renowned spongy dancefloor a pummelling.
In their pomp they were (incorrectly) dismissed by the music press as a comedy novelty band, but some of the lyrics on offer tonight show that there was a beating heart between the lighter moments. “I haven’t seen you for a month or maybe two, but I think about you sometimes when I’ve got no-one to talk to,” from the criminally ignored single ‘Michiko’ being a case in point.
Just like the old days he introduces each song as “Gonna do this one for you now” and thanks us all after each with “Cheers, big ears” and a look of sheer, good-natured devilment. The rest of the band sounding even better than they did in their heyday with snotty, harmonica-led, almost-hit ‘Veronica’ and the Adam Ant drumming laden ‘Wake Up And Scratch Me’ showcasing their skills.
There’s a blistering ‘Kick Me With Your Leather Boots’ (with it’s killer couplet which a, by now refreshed, O’Flaherty misses this evening “You say Dostoyevsky was the greatest of them all, in my opinion Boniek had better ball control,” (an ode to both novelists and 70’s Polish footballers) before main set closer (and biggest hit) ‘U Talk 2 Much’ ends proceedings, but only temporarily (as we know there’s still the big one to come).
Encore one brings us ‘Let’s Go Shopping’ with an additional, uncredited onstage violinist before it predictably goes off for the Jumper song and even though we are two songs light from the whole album being played, it appears that’s that. But instead of those two, we get something of a treat for the hardcore fans, with early B-sides ‘Turnip Fish’ and a rousing ‘I Said I Am I Said’.
If they are making one of their rare appearances in your town then go see them, it’s a guaranteed high quality night out, full of rattlingly great two minute guitar raspers, with a frontman to match.
Now get those other two albums on your service, Spotify.
(Photos: Cheryl Doherty)
