Gig #13: The Cluny, Newcastle 24 April 2014

Support tonight is by local heroes So What Robot who play a sharp-elbowed set of quirky, rock ‘n’ roll songs which have been poured into a cocktail shaker along with Talking Heads, Kraftwerk, The Modern Lovers and Chas and Dave. It’s a heady mixture, and it’s played with a fierce energy that clearly impresses the audience, and has the Nightingales casting anxious glances at each other across the room.

Joseph ‘Joe’ Crow – ex of both the Prefects and the Nightingales – is in the audience tonight and he watches his old friend Chippington go through exactly the same act he first witnessed as a mere youth, all those years ago in Birmingham. “Are you a Blues fan?” Chippington fixes the audience with his trademark steely glare. “Yes!” shout the crowd in unison. “We’re all Blues fans, Ted!” Crow’s face breaks into a wry smile – the years have not dimmed Chippington’s ability to mould a crowd to his whim.

If the audience has any doubts at all about the Nightingales, they are blown away by the very first notes of viral hit “Bullet for Gove.” The set is delivered with the band’s customary ruthless efficiency, and leave a stunned audience begging for the encore that will never come. Crow’s face breaks into yet another wry smile – the years have not dimmed his old band’s ability to mould a crowd to their whim.