Primal Scream at O2 Guildhall, Southampton REVIEW: 'The band is focused, tight and as loud as frontman Bobby Gillespie’s bright pink suit'

Over three decades, Primal Scream have been many things – indie heroes, pioneers of landmark psychedelic rock/dance and peddlers of heavy blues.
Primal Scream live. Picture by Paul WindsorPrimal Scream live. Picture by Paul Windsor
Primal Scream live. Picture by Paul Windsor

Their prolific and eclectic output has also had its patchy and underwhelming moments but fortunately that’s not a problem on this tour, aptly named Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll.

This version of the band is focused, tight and as loud as frontman Bobby Gillespie’s bright pink suit.

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The set opens strongly with Don’t Fight It, Feel It from the lauded album Screamadelica, before kicking into the relentless groove of Swastika Eyes. The audience's attention wanders during the slightly stodgy, Stoogey 15 minutes that follows, but a phones-aloft change of pace arrives with the ballad Cry Myself Blind.

From then on we’re gifted a cherry-picked career retrospective, even harking back to the band’s 1986 beginnings with the wide-eyed jangle-pop of Velocity Girl.

Muscular versions of crowd-pleasers Loaded, Movin’ On Up and Come Together – complete with audience participation – energise the crowd before Gillespie signs off by staking his claim as one of music’s great frontmen with the stone-cold classic Rocks.

Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll it most certainly is.

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