The first time I saw Goldie Lookin Chain was at the Reading Festival, I think in 2004, or thereabouts. They were full-on comedy rap and as entertaining as fuck. I have seen them a few times since at festivals. Some of the stuff they released in the first flush of their success was absolute genius that finely blended great rap with sharp, sublime comedy. So I was never going to pass up the opportunity to witness GLC in full flight once again, twenty years later. This time it was at the magnificent Crescent in York and the gig was a sell-out! Were GLC any good? I will tell you later, but first I must tell you about the wonderful support act, Marx. I am not talking about Karl Marx, just Marx. He is a passionate and talented rapper from Hull spitting tales of real life in his biting, cutting, perfectly formed ciphers. He dishes it out to landlords, Rishi Sunak, and a whole host of other bad guys in equal measure. If Eminem had been born twenty-five or thirty or so years later than he actually was and in Hull rather than Missouri USA he probably would have sounded like Marx. He delivers his lines perfectly and struts across the stage like he owns it, and tonight he did! The beats supplied by his DJ were stunning and fitted the tracks like a Saville Row suit. I particularly loved the Roy Ayers sample. “Rent Money” and “Student Loan” (at least I think they were the titles) were my highlights in a set full of them. I am definitely a fan of this bloke Marx now.
It is probably fair to say that in the current more politically correct climate, much of what GLC has done in the past might not be acceptable to some. While this is likely to be true I still find them fucking hilarious. It’s comedy and bloody good comedy at that! It was just 5/7 of the whole GLC crew, but that did not spoil the night one bit! The crowd was up for a fun night and that is what the GLC Crew gave us in abundance. A large contingent of the crowd came dressed for the occasion in garish tracksuits, including a delightful Greggs trackie number and plenty of heavy gold chains. Despite the invitation to get shitfaced later in the set some of the crowd were shitfaced on arrival, probably as it was Saint Paddy’s day. All the classic GLC tunes were on show; “Newport State of Mind (You’re Not From Newport)”, “Soap Bar”, “21 Ounces”, “Baneswell Express” and “You Knows I Loves You”. Talking of the latter is there a love song with a finer lyric than “To prove my love, I gotta tattoo, on my bollocks. I was gonna have your name but I only got initials ’cause I couldn’t stand the pain”? Smokey Robinson never managed to describe the pain of love so well in any of his songs, did he? But the biggest reaction and party vibes came with “Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do” and “Your Missus Is a Nutter”. But frankly, nothing could compare with a wonderfully extended singalong of “Your Mother’s Got a Penis”. Is there a better way to end a getting shitfaced kind of night? probably not! I can confirm that Goldie Lookin Chain retains their hilariously filthy, Welsh comedy charm, you knows it!
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