Feeder, Koko, London

It’s been 11 years since Feeder released ‘Buck Rogers’, and as I hone in on the faces of those stood on the ground floor of KOKO at 9pm on a chilly Tuesday night, I can tell that many are eagerly awaiting the chance to relive their teenage years again. Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose, along with new drummer Steve, play Camden’s finest venue as part of their mini UK tour, to celebrate the release of eighth studio album ‘Generation Freakshow’. Their new material is influenced by a plethora of factors, including Grant Nicholas’ six-year-old daughter (whom he dedicates a song to) and his love of America.

The set contains anthems on a par with earlier chart-toppers, with ‘Sunrise’ and latest single ‘Borders’ gaining the best crowd reception, and a fair number of chart classics thrown in for good measure. The band teases us with the opening riff to ‘Buck Rogers’, stopping after two bars and exclaiming: ‘We’re not going to play that one.’ Now, don’t do an REM on us, Grant, and refuse to play one of your most renowned songs. Thankfully, this comment is pure jest, as the rockers, following an uproar of panto-esque booing, launch into it full throttle. Cries of ‘He’s got a CD player, player, player, player’ are echoed by a sold-out crowd singing, moshing and throwing their drinks and grannies in the air (note to reader: one of these may be a falsehood).

Yes, ladies and gents, the Welsh rockers may have been away from the music scene for a while, but they are back, with a new drummer and an album of songs that make us old school fans fall in love with them all over again.