The Establishment, Ronnie Scott's

From 2012. Bradford West Respect MP George Galloway was invited on stage at Ronnie Scott’s by host actor and comedian Keith Allen on the first night of the late night homage to The Establishment club, the Greek Street night spot that kickstarted the satire boom in the 1960s courtesy of Peter Cook whose widow Lin gave her blessing to the return of the historic name at Ronnie’s. Galloway sat down with Allen after delivering his joke about a man ‘wafting’ a blanket over another man having sex with his wife to talk about some of the fall-out from Galloway’s recent controversial comments about rape, and discussed, to a bit of heckling, the controversial case of Julian Assange currently living in the Ecuadorian embassy having been granted political asylum. Galloway feels the rape charge against Assange is a set-up.

Allen introduced a range of comedians as the show continued. With continuity music by the James Pearson trio (Pearson, piano, Sam Burgess, bass, and Dave Ohm, drums) who played some extracts of little known Dudley Moore trio songs and other material although Allen confessed to the audience that he actually “fucking hated jazz.”

First on was Glaswegian comic Arnold Brown whose droll lugubrious manner brought the poet Ivor Cutler to mind and perhaps even the patter of the maverick performer Earl Okin. Later came the disappointing Marian Pashley, the pretty tame Phil Nichol whose ‘I’m The Only Gay Eskimo’ routine went on a bit too long; slightly underwhelming Mark Nelson, and the likeable Ria Lina but who could have done with better material.

There was a talented mime artist in a red wig, interpreting a Judy Garland recording from the 1960s which worked surprisingly well, but thank goodness for Terry Alderton who blew all the others away with a routine that was genuinely inventive, risky in some ways with a variety of voices delivered with his back to the audience, great microphone sound effects, and a playful routine utilising the assistance of an elderly chap in the front row of the audience. Maybe not risqué overall as in Peter Cook’s understanding of the word back in the Establishment days when the Lord Chamberlain had to be circumvented, how could it be? But very engaging.

And finally a brief word about the sensational teenage four-piece from Cavan in Ireland, The Strypes, whose authentic and retro take on Yardbirds style blues-rock went down a treat with their rousing treatment of ‘You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover’ and ‘My Generation’ among other numbers. It got lots of people in Ronnie’s on their hind legs and applauding with genuine enthusiasm. Jeff Beck sitting in the audience must have smiled and smiled. Stephen Graham

The Strypes pictured, publicity shot.

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From 2015. The latest volume capturing the big band’s 1990 farewell residency at Ronnie Scott’s as well as new material recorded back in Ronnie’s in May last year, their first issued since reforming.

The new tracks recorded for Radio 3 jazz show Jazz on 3 are the last three here. And as Jazz Record Requests presenter Alyn Shipton comments in the first of two liner notes, the “sense of continuity” is the most noticeable thing particularly he says on the first of these newer tracks.

Scrolling back to the 1990 tracks the album comes alive after tune announcer trombonist Ashley Slater speaks at the end of ‘Children’s Game’ with a firm indication of the big band’s long established political edge by saying emphatically, given this was during Desert Shield and what would later became known as the first Gulf War “Let’s NOT go to war in Kuwait.” The band then rips into the Chris Batchelor piece ‘The Wolf’s Dream and the Wild Eye’ complete with an extraordinary clarinet solo from Dai Pritchard, worth the price of the CD alone, that develops an intensity beyond what begins as a mocking dirge and transforms itself into what even might be considered a feral belly dance.

Orphy Robinson’s amusing sleeve note is nicely gauged, written in the style of a Test Match Special commentary, one by Johnners maybe given the period. ‘Nights at the Circus’ has some humorous musical lines too, like something from the European avant garde maybe ICP in the writing and certainly there is a wild energy in Loose Tubes throughout that keeps you guessing. Read the last bit of Orphy’s piece perhaps out loud in the voice of, given a bit of licence, Blowers: “Now that reminds me of some delightful cakes from Holland, sent to the commentary box by the mischievous duo of Parker & Harborne during what was termed the infamous Rotten Snots test series of the 1980s.” The puckish spirit lives on.

The best yet from this last, once thought terminal, hurrah of three albums, even better than the excellent Dancing on Frith Street but only by the slimmest of margins. Surely a box set collecting all three is the next logical step or even a full studio album by the reformed band while we await much needed reissues of Loose Tubes, Delightful Precipice and Open Letter. SG

The Establishment, Ronnie Scott's

Loose Tubes, Arriving, Lost Marble