Starry Starrie night
13 Mar 2000

A live billing that had proved hugely successful several times already produced one more stunning night at the Flapper & Firkin last weekend.

Birmingham's cherished pop chaos merchants The Starries teamed up with The Regulars again on Saturday night to see well over 100 enthusiastic punters pack the venue out - thanks also to debutant three-piece God's Personal Robots, who kicked off the evening in impressively assured style.

Headlining the gig, The Starries lived up to the hype brilliantly, once again thrilling the majority and thoroughly alienating the rest. Another barnstorming performance was capped with the exciting announcement of a new single.

The Regs took the stage at 9:30, opening nicely and newly with If I had a sister. The reworked and scrubbed and polished Try made an early showing to good effect, but it was the Regs' first new tune of 2000, This is the sound, that stole the show again. Punky, spunky and shouty, it is probably the only song in pop history to combine Bis-style vocals, Chemical Brothers-type drumming and guitars that sound like Slayer, and looks set to become a full-time live favourite.

For the second gig running, a number of beautiful popkids were observed grooving on down to the Regs at the front of the stage - in considerably more civilised fashion than the rather uncouth moshpit that greeted The Starries - and forthcoming single Lie down and fight, which finished the set, brought two of them backstage armed only with a Smiths t-shirt, to enquire politely as to a release date.

If all this were not enough, the band were also honoured by the presence of former residents of Birmingham now decamped to exotic foreign climes.

Astrid - who faithfully attended several Regulars gigs in 1998 before returning home to Germany - was so overcome with delight at seeing the band again that she has decided to return to Birmingham permanently in July. Her decision may also be related to the offer of a full-time permanent job in the city, though this cannot be confirmed.

An appearance was also made by Regulist member and former fellow wage-slave of Pete, Mr D Umney. It is thought, however, that further persuasion will be necessary for him to repudiate the unquestionable charms of Bedford.

Admirers of a certain Regular at Saturday's gig also fulfilled with frightening accuracy a prediction made many years ago, when said heartthrob whizzkid first joined The Regulars. His elated, if slightly incoherent, comments later appeared in the site guestbook and remain on show for all the world to see.

The Regulars are expected to return to the Flapper in May. In the meantime, two high-profile Jug of Ale gigs promise more indie pop fireworks.

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