Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur

Hils, Crog and I had a brilliant evening yesterday - a rather unexpected one; originally we were just meeting for drinkies in a bar in Clerkenwell - as we managed to land tickets for a fantabulosa show at our beloved Wilton's Music Hall.

Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band - for it was they - are utterly fabulous entertainers, taking on a mix of old standards (including Five Foot Two (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?), Put The Blame On Mame, and Bear Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You from Jungle Book) some original material (Miss Vogue's paean to her Bowler Hat was fab) and quirky re-imaginings of crowd-pleasing "modern" numbers including Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Tainted Love, Should I Stay Or Should I Go? and the absolute show-stopper Parklife!



The band are sublime: horn section Becca Toft on trumpet, Emma Bassett on trombone and Yasmin Ogilvie on saxophone, Amy Baldwin on double bass, Sarah Bodalbhai on piano, Emily O'Hara on guitar and drummer Michele Drees (who gamely played up a storm despite being on crutches following a knee operation).





However, it's the combination of their charismatic leader Tricity Vogue and tap-dancer (and comic foil) Josephine Shaker that made them so very, very enjoyable. Whipping the audience up into a swinging, bopping frenzy - she even managed to get Crog up to dance as an "ice-breaker" before anyone else plucked up the courage to take to the floor - Miss Shaker was unstoppable throughout the entire show.

We loved it.

And here, unfortunately without the (very raucous) audience participation of last night at Wilton's, are the girls with their inimitable rendition of the Blur classic:

Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band - Parklife

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur
Of what is known as
(Parklife!)
And morning soup can be avoided
If you take a route straight through what is known as
(Parklife!)

John's got brewers droop he gets intimidated
By the dirty pigeons, they love a bit of him
(Parklife!)
Who's that gut lord marching?
You should cut down on your pork-life, mate, get some exercise

All the people
So many people
They all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife
Know what I mean?

I get up when I want except on Wednesdays
When I get rudely awakened by the dustmen
(Parklife!)
I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea
And I think about leaving the house
(Parklife!)

I feed the pigeons I sometimes feed the sparrows too
It gives me a sense of enormous well-being
(Parklife!)
And then I'm happy for the rest of the day, safe in the knowledge
There will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it

All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife

Parklife
(Parklife!)
Parklife
(Parklife!)

It's got nothing to do with
Vorsprung durch technik you know
(Parklife!)
And it's not about you joggers
Who go round and round and round
(Parklife!)

All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife

All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife

Indeed.

Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band

Witon's Music Hall