Gossip, Glasgow review - 'Beth Ditto was on giddy form'

Gossip

Gossip, SWG3, Glasgow ★★★★

Olympian punk power trio The Gossip have slimmed down their name – you can call them Gossip - while expanding their live line-up with additional bass and keyboards. Their mighty soul dynamo frontwoman Beth Ditto still cannot be contained, though, at 43, she will admit to taking longer to recover between songs. “I gotta lot to say,” she declared, enforcing her band’s opening command to Listen Up! Her capacity audience were all ears and ready to break out the boogie shoes for this righteous celebration.

Ditto was on giddy form throughout, letting rip with her free associating humour, gushing about playing with her Glasgow heroes The Yummyfur and most importantly delivering those fiery vocals, pushing but never breaking over the silky electro pop backing of Four Letter Word and adding an extra layer of grit and passion on the plea for dignity that is Yr Mangled Heart. This, says Ditto, is how she soundchecks (with added gonzo terminology).

She showcased her potential as a house music soul screamer by lubricating her larynx on a burst of C+C Music Factory’s Gonna Make You Sweat, while a brief taster of Shania Twain’s You’re Still The One demonstrated her softer commercial palette. But danceable rock music is the Gossip wheelhouse, with queer love rights always on the agenda. Men In Love, Move in the Right Direction and Give It Up For Love added Eighties alternative, gothic and funky licks to the mix, while Jason’s Basement was a throwback to their grungier garage punk early days.

Coal to Diamonds was retro heartbreak balladry in modern garb and Crazy Again a more mainstream pop sound from latest album Real Power, but the chunky Heavy Cross and undisputed anthem Standing in the Way of Control were the joyous acts of resistance most associated with this particular political party.