BellX1 played in the Marquee in Cork on the first of July and Duke Special played support for the gig. The Marquee was pretty full when we arrived into it to hear Duke Special belting out a few good songs. Then there was the inevitable wait and a certain amount of jostling for a better view of the stage. Our jostling was mainly to move away from the really tall blonde guy that had found his way in front of us or we had managed by bad timing to fall in behind him. Either way it was difficult to see anything through his back so with a small bit of movement most of us could see different parts of the stage.

Before the band came on we were treated to an animated presentation about the band in the style of the A – Team. It was very funny and the crowd seemed to get a kick out of it. Enthusiasm was rife as the band took to the stage but Paul took this enthusiasm to a new level when he almost strangled himself with the microphone lead during one of the early songs. Later on he invited everyone in the big blue tent to sing along with them for the song ‘Flame’ and the crowd duly obliged.

Duran Duran and Slayer had played in the Marquee the previous week and Paul asked the crowd if anybody had been at either of those concerts. He then started to tell a made up story about a Duran Duran fan and a Slayer fan in the lead up to the song ‘Lampposts’. I’m glad to say that many of my favourites were played during the night but alas ‘Still selling shoes wasn’t one of them. Hopefully I’ll get to hear it at their next gig whenever that may be (answers on a postcard please). For once Ratgirl and I were not surrounded by freaks at the gig which was a refreshing experience!