Skunk Anansie

So Good

Tonight’s musical aperitif is a cheeky dip into the brat-punk pool of London artist So Good, backed up by band members in pink balaclavas, and singers in stompy doc marten boots. Frontwoman Sophie is decked out in pleated denim, neon pink socks and a matching Beret, spitting feminist anti-fascist lyrics with wild abandon – but giving distinct Leslie Knope’s Pawnee Goddess girl-guide energy.

I’m absolutely here for it, this infectious riot grrrl fun is coming back around, thanks (no thanks) to the state of the world around us right now, and we need more of it. “Her ex boyfriend is from Birmingham you know” Sophie points at one of her singers, “…so this one goes out to him, middle fingers up!” and the crowd obliges by joining in with the salute.

‘I Hate It Here’ about our repeatedly shit Prime Minister situation is very tongue in cheek funny, but also hits the nail on the head in so many ways. The line “…you ain’t stopped abortion just abortion that’s safe…” comes at a time where our news is full of professional victims hiding behind religion and free speech, to attack women in lawfully protected safe zones. Again, this kind of nonsense needs disrupting – and if it comes in the loud bright fun packaging of women’s rage-music, all the better in my opinion.

Just to break up the political discourse for a minute, “I heard a rumour that people from Birmingham have big dicks?” Sophie giggles before launching into ‘If I had A’ – a hilarious lament on penises and a very 70’s-porn twangy backing track.

Finishing up with a dose of blasphemy,  ‘I Rewrote The Fucking Bible’ is the ultimate angry girl theme tune. There’s a hint of Lady Sovereign, a bit of Bikini Kill, and a lot of London. Straight on the protest playlist. So Good might already be my biggest band recommendation of the year, and it’s only April.

Skunk Anansie

It’s a packed-out shoulder-to-sweaty-shoulder affair in the O2 tonight, a sold out show for the return of Brit-rock royalty Skunk Anansie. The stage, moody with fog and blue lighting, centres on a drum riser crowned with black inflatable spikes. Drummer Mark Richardson makes his way to the centre of the sea urchin structure to immediate roars of appreciation from the crowd, as Cass and Ace take to the stage below.

The electric opening bars of  ‘This Means War’ provide the perfect promenade for a duffel-coated Skin to enter the stage. Like some kind of menacing caterpillar waiting to break free, she bounces in on gigantic metal-plated boots, with a huge hood obscuring her face as she tears through the call-to-arms lyrics. Swapping into trainers and ditching the sleeping-bag for ‘Because of You’, we are treated to the soaring top notes Skin is famous for, the awed silence of the crowd as she holds an impossibly long note mid-song is truly something to behold.

Wearing a hybrid Adidas track top-turned tailcoat with the bouffant arms of a retro Nike shell-suit, and a swathe of leather and fabric kilt-ish skirts, Skin is known for her quirky stage dress – but this might be the one I would most like to own. It is hitting all the right nostalgia buttons for a fairly homogenously aged crowd – big up the 90’s teen crew,  I see you all.

“Wonderlustre was released 15 years ago, this is the first single from that album… it’s called ‘God Loves Only You’. They’re loud. You know those Christian nationalists who think God loves only them? How can God love only you? With all the different races and genders?”

A huge roar of agreement erupts as Skin laments,

“They’ve aligned themselves with the far right, the KKK, fascism and Trumpism… which to me seems the opposite of religion. They want to go after immigrants, after women… the only way to defeat them is to go into our communities and families, and BRING EVERYONE BACK TOGETHER!”

“We are Skunk Anansie, we believe everybody is always equal. SMASH FASCISTS, SMASH RACISTS” comes the rallying cry. The following frenzy of the crowd serves a cathartic purpose for the pent-up anger and energy for the current state of the world, it’s obvious everyone needs this.

‘Weak’ is undeniably the anthem of the night, Skin’s voice is stunningly vibrant, perhaps better than I’ve ever heard her – but there is no vying for attention nor eclipsing of the band, who are non-stop pumping the energy as well. It may be as close to a perfect balance as I’ve come across in music, they just deliver on all fronts. The crowd is eventually singing along so loud that Skin gives over the spotlight to the voice of the masses.

Caressing the bald head of one of the security guards, before jumping down to the pit barrier to sing with the crowd during ‘Twisted (Everyday Hurts)’ it doesn’t take long before she has jumped into the melee full throttle.

Another Wonderlustre classic ‘My Ugly Boy’ keeps the hits coming with barely room to breathe, and the room is an absolute furnace with all the jumping. So much so that someone appears to have suffered a collapse near the middle of the room. Skin stops the show to check staff can get out to retrieve the person, and it’s all very quickly and efficiently done. Rolling onto a track from the new album (releasing on May 23rd – ‘The Painful Truth’) called ‘Animal’ – a full heavy metal moment, with a NIN-esque dirty beat behind it. I can tell this is going to be one of my most played albums of the year.

‘Yes It’s Fucking Political’ sees Skin calling for a circle pit, and the momentum of the night shows absolutely no sign of dropping. After a short exit, the encore houses another new one ‘Cheers’ which tiptoes the pop rock line in a very accessible way. I think this is going to be the one that draws in new Skunk fans for the 2020’s.

The iconic ‘Hedonism’ is followed by Led Zep’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ for a bit of riffy fun while doing band introductions. ‘The Skank Heads (Get Off Me)’ gives another opportunity for Skin to dive into the crowd, in which she calls for “all the girls to the mosh pit!”. Closing out with “We’ll do one more. Something loud? Something fast? Something delicate?” as she puts it, is another new song ‘Lost and Found’ – a slow, but gorgeous almost operatic wind-down, to a furiously dynamic show. As they thank the crowd and send set-list paper aeroplanes shooting out to grabbing hands, I think I can safely conclude that this might rank as my top gig of 2025 already.

As the new ‘Lost and Found’ lyric goes “Heavy is the crown” – but Skunk Anansie are really out here, 31 years into their career – seemingly lifting that crown higher each time I see them.

Setlist 

1. This Means War
2. Charlie Big Potato
3. Because of You
4. An Artist Is an Artist
5. I Believed in You
6. Love Someone Else
7. God Loves Only You
8. Secretly
9. Weak
10. I Can Dream
11. Twisted (Everyday Hurts)
12. My Ugly Boy
13. Animal
14. Yes It’s Fucking Political
15. Tear the Place Up
16. Little Baby Swastikkka

Encore:

1. Cheers
2. Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)
3. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
4. The Skank Heads (Get Off Me)
5. Lost and Found