Young Al from Skinflint may have created a new record for 3 consecutive appearances at the rally (with 2 different bands), yet it was the next group on stage that can proudly boast that in Stormin’s 17 year history that they have now performed here a whopping 5 times! [The Bandits] have been asked back here on so many occasions purely because they deliver the goods every single time. They are a great down-to-earth rock band that play their own brand of R’n’B (back to the days when it stood for ‘rhythm & blues’, not that watered down soul/pop shit), and these lot do it all exceedingly well. ... The group are now down to a trio, even though they started out as a 4-piece band and have gone back to that line-up on occasions too. But for the foreseeable future this is a hard-working 3-piece with Bad Bob Bates on vocals and guitar, Whalebone Pete on bass and backing vocals, and Brad Dolphin on drums. For just 3 guys on stage they make a beautifully big noise, and as they’ve graced this stage so many times previously then they are almost a part of the fixtures. But believe me, they do the job oh so well!

There was no real soundcheck for these guys at all, other than a brief line-check to make sure that all their gear was fully miked- up and that a signal was getting through to the main mixing desk. And being the experienced & professional blokes that the Bandits are then it was only just a brief 20 minutes before they were all hooked up and ready to go. Time was of the essence as the headliners UFO wanted to be away very sharp to ensure that they made their flight connections in time, but the bands & stage-crew were magnificent in turning everything round so quickly and getting the live music right back on track once more. Then it was party-time with the Bandits back on these boards for their 5th occasion and playing a corking gig to a very appreciative crowd. Tight doesn’t come in to it, … this lot were bonded together to be musically inseparable!

Any band are only as good as their rhythm section, and it’s that unity of bass guitar synched in perfectly with the drums that gives any act it’s real backbone. All the best bands have that going for them, and it’s the unspoken chemistry between bassist & drummer that makes the music come alive and have a real spring in it’s step. These guy have just that! Pete on bass is a fairly unassuming character on stage. He’s a tall guy that stands over on the right-hand side of the stage with his specs perched on the end of is nose like he’s reading the newspapers to check out the running form of the horses, ha-ha. Yet you could not ask for a more solid bassist, and for this type of music then you have to be right on the ball to keep it all moving along gracefully. Brad on drums is all you could wish for in a fine quality tub-basher, and I was quite taken aback at how good he was and just how much he drove the music along. Together this partnership are impeccable, which in turn pins down such a glorious groove for main-man Bad Bob to lay his vocal and guitar flourishes over the top of. Bob is a tremendous guitarist, and even though his basic sound is raw and uncompromising in manner, it comes across as a gutsy rock’n’roll sound that has more beef than a Dickinson’s pie. It was never harsh on the ear, yet the monster volume that was piling out of the PA system gave it such a massive tone. Nothing overly processed, but just a marvellous naturally driven amp sound that sounded simplistic and awesome at the same time.

The songs ranged from R’n’B classics through to the Clash’s ‘I Fought the Law’ and basically everything else in-between. Whether they were pumping out Dr Feelgood’s ‘Roxette’ or the Pirates ‘Shaking All Over’, they did it all so well by keeping the energy levels flowing and pushing the vibe out to the crowd too. My favourite song from them had to be the B52’s ‘Roam’, which is one of those utter gems that most people seem to have forgotten, yet the Bandits have brought it back to life after 15 years and kicked it back in to our modern live music culture. The music did vary in style and I fully understand why this group wanted to move away from being wrongly associated with that ‘blues’ tag, as they simply aren’t like that at all. A perfect example of that was their rendition of the Proclaimers ‘500 Miles’ which went down a storm with this audience. The lighting engineers used the bright stage floodlights to beam right out over the crowd, and you could then see all the people jumping about and singing their hearts out during the choruses. That’s what this rally is all about to me. It’s seeing bands & bikers joining together in unison to have a fantastic time, with everybody letting their hair down with no pretences or egos and just having FUN! The Bandits understand that reasoning completely, and that’s what makes them such a perfect band for a bike rally of this size, and also is probably a massive part of why they’ve been asked back so many times as well. This was great live music. Stripped down of all frills with the group putting their heart & soul in to it.

Thought i would pass on my thanks to THE BANDITS for a fantastic show they put on last night @washington f.c..

The whole show was great from start to finish !!!! It takes a lot of hard work to keep a crowd of over 300 spellbound all night long !!!! but these fine hard working guys !! pulled it off in style !!!

Many thanks and looking forward to your return in august!!!

Cheers big davey

p/s thanks also for the great advert for my many fine ales - never seen a band take so long to pack their gear away, but then again yous were keep falling down every 10 mins!!!lol,,lol ........great night had by all !!!! ..........................

big davey@washington f.c.

About bloody time Mr Smoult. Finally The Bandits got to play The Office, it's just about still standing.

Col was away and emailed me to do a review for him, which I am glad to do……

For those readers who are unfamiliar to The Bandits (formerly The Rhythm Bandits), they have been around since about 1943 I think. They have certainly been around as long as I have been going to see local bands. They play hard Rock and Roll tunes and inject a massive dose of humour into their shows. They are a no frills, no airs or graces raw attack on the senses and entertain without compassion.

They also have a great website…www.rhythm-bandits.co.uk

I have had the pleasure to have seen them countless times in just about every venue around. However, I had never witnessed either of their “Stormin” or “Farmyard” shows which always annoyed me as I can imagine the big stage being a fantastic plateau for this bands talents. This is why I made the trip to the Office last night to finally see them up on a proper stage rather than on the floor/tables/stools/bars of other venues.

I arrived just after the band had set up and missed the sound check but I can imagine it being pretty much:

“Is this on?”
“Yip”
“Righto, get the beers in”

Sometimes you can overcomplicate things. Rock and Roll isn’t an exact science...

The opening number of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” proved that the lads were right to drop the “rythem” (sic) as they were being tagged as a blues band and they most definitely aren’t, also pubs kept spelling it like that. Into the Pirate’s “Shakin All Over” and then we are treated to Whalebone singing “Substitute”. The bass line on this is virtually a lead line and Whalebone plays it like he means it. When he sings “I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth”, you believe him. Next up is a cover of the Kings Of Leon’s “California Waiting”, I love the Kings anyway so I really enjoyed this rocked up version which still maintained the “southern” edge of the original. Bob reminded the crowd that they had to cheer as the drummer wants to drop the song. It was met with a huge cheer which means Brad will have to keep playing it! One request gentlemen, more Kings please! After “Werewolves Of London”, the slide guitar came out for an airing. Bob is a very highly skilled slide player and his version of “Bad to The Bone” is simply THE best version of the song I have ever heard. Thorogood himself would struggle look that mean. Next out is the Bandit anthem of “Roxette” complete with Rory Typhoon showcase of dropping to his knees and playing “Ziggy Stardust” mid-song. “Rory played geeeeetaaaaaaaaarrrrr”. Brilliant.

The second last song in the first set was a cover of “No Other Baby” by Bobby Helms. Whalebone was supposed to sing the song but apparently lost the key somewhere in the intro and Bob had to help him out. He tried again on the second verse and was met by Bad Bob shouting “I wouldn’t bother” at him. This didn’t actually detract from the song as Bob is more than capable of singing it. It was very funny for everyone but poor Whalebone Pete. Bless him. The end of the first set was signalled by everyone being invited to sing along with the instrumental “Wipeout”, a song that Mr Dolphin drums with all his might. Time for a breather, or as Bob said “We're off to shag the drummer and take some drugs - back in bit”.

Yours…."Grit your teeth, clench your jaw, push yourself just a little bit more..." Steve Gilroy 16/09/2006.

Check out The Steve Gilroy Band at: www.thestevegilroyband.com

Stormin' The Castle, 2004

'They had a big full sound, and were easily capable of delivering tasty American styled blues rock'

Next on stage were the Bandits who are no strangers to the fields of Witton Castle. In fact they are the only act who have played this event 4 times, which is quite some feat in itself. Their brand of up-tempo rock'n'roll, laced with a strong bluesy influence, is their trademark sound. The Bandits have been going for so long now that it would be insulting for me to even hazard a guess as to when they started out, but their name is held in the same sort of reverence as bands like the Hipthrusters and the Chestwigs. They are a hard working band who always put in that extra effort to give a good live show. For this occasion the group were stripped down to being just a 3-piece combo. There's a long story behind this (which is not my place to tell), but let's just say that their second guitarist decided to leave the band because of personal stressful matters. His reasons were 100% totally understandable, yet his timing was really bad as he let the band know just the night prior to this show. The group were still pretty bombshelled by his decision, even on the day of their performance, but told Nige that they were well up for the gig and would still put on a damn good show. The Bandits did not lie. Even in this reduced format they still had a big full sound, and were easily capable of still delivering some tasty American-styled blues rock. Others around me were saying that Rory was a big miss with his presence being absent from the stage, but as this was my first ever taste of the Rhythm Bandits then it made no real difference to me. The trio that I saw looked like they had been that way forever.

They are a breath of fresh air between all the heavy rock bands etc, that tend to dominate most bike rallies. Not everyone who attends these events is automatically a rocker at heart, and it's nice to have a change of pace and style to freshen up the whole proceedings. [Bob’s] compadre on the opposite side of the stage is bassist Whalebone Pete. This is the band's anchorman, and he keeps it all solid while Bob is off soloing his heart out, and their drummer Brad is throwing some fills across his kit. Pete also gets to sing lead vocals on the odd song too, and surprisingly has a very good voice. The vocals and harmonies (no matter who did what) were always spot on. You could tell that these 2 guys at the front of the stage had worked with each other for ages. They seemed to be able to anticipate each other's moves, as well as sounding totally in unison with each other.

The main guy you are instantly drawn to is Bad Bob Bates, their guitarist/lead vocalist. He has a great stage presence, plays some rip roaring guitar, and can sing meaner than a hungry Alabama alligator. He's a real character when he's up there performing, and it's no wonder that the band have been asked back here so many times.

Brad at the back didn't go unnoticed either as he lay down some nifty drum work which formed the back bone of this unit. The songs were mainly blues orientated, and mostly unfamiliar to me. But I did really like their versions of Dr.Feelgood's 'Roxette', George Thorogood's 'Bad to The Bone', and the superb Faces classic 'Stay With Me'. Even as a 3-piece, this band did themselves immense justice. For my first experience of the Bandits live I was well impressed.

(Stormin’ The Castle, September 11th 2004, Review and pics courtesy of Riffs)

Anyone who missed The Bandits at Felling's newest live music venue, The Fox, missed a treat. the mighty trio are preparing for a rehearsal break to add new material to their already stunning set so the future maybe even more exciting.The Bandits kicked off in blistering style with "Take A Tip" followed by "Substitute" with bassist Whalebone Pete on lead vocals.Due to Whalebone's mighty playing he snapped a string and whilst changing an old Bandit favourite "Mad Man Blues" featuring Bad Bob Bates on vocals and slide was dug out of the vaults. BBB is stunning on this superb George Thorogood number and even the great man himself would struggle to better this version.Warren Zeavon's Werewolf of (Felling) London is followed by the excellent Jets song "Are You Gonna Be My Girl",Dr.Feelgood's "Roxette" and The Kinks "All Day And All Of The Night". the first half is concluded by The Pirates "Shaking All Over", "No Other Baby" and Drummer Brad Dolphins tour de force "Wipeout".The break gives both Band and Audience a chance to catch their breath.

The second half gets under way with Bad Bob Bates on Bass and former drummer Ray Conroy sitting in for Brad on an unusual but excellent rendition of "Hey Joe" with BBB supplying a bit of lead at the end."My Generation" and "Roadhouse Blues kept the set Banging along and even a bit of a punter requested "Touched By Your Presence" and "The Hunter" did not deter the Bandits from their main goal which was to entertain until implosion occurred."Bye Bye Johnny" and the awesome "I Fought The Law" brought the evening to a close and a well earned rest for the Band and all still standing. A great night all round with a superb band and an excellent Pub, Reggie and Michelle are turning "The Fox" into a must visit Venue.Watch out for the Bandits return and treat yourself to a great night out.
(Terry H)

"The music was good and loud, the beer was cold. My clothes are ruined and I can't find my watch!" - SG

"Rubbish, no dragons, monsters or demons and they dont wear studded leather" - Iron Maiden