At the moment, it seems, Goldie Lookin’ Chain can do no wrong. They are so celebrated by the music press that the NME even let them be editors for the week, they are on the crest of a wave of ‘chav’ culture that the tabloids tell us is ‘sweeping the nation’, they’ve even made wearing shell suits cool. Their, truly, unique brand of rap, hip-hop and adolescent comedy makes them irresistible, for the moment at least.
It is clear from their arrival onstage that a GLC gig is quite like no other. Where a crowd normally cheers at the announcement of their rock or pop idols arrival, the whole place erupts with laughter as the cap-clad rappers trot onstage, clearly all off their face. Mike Balls, in particular, is good enough to inform us "I’m off my f**ing head", while Dwain P Xain responds with “I don’t think I’ve come up yet”. By the time they launch into ‘Soap Bar’, a song about one of their preferred varieties of marajuana, Dwain looks like he’s doing just fine.
The strangest thing about the gig is that music really does seem to take second fiddle to comedy. Aside from the lyrics to most of, well – all of, their songs being genuinely hilarious their stage performance is childish pandemonium. During ‘Self Suicide’ (the groups comment on suicide carving out a guaranteed path to fame), many of the members pretend to be hanging themselves. Bad taste? No, side-splitting.
Their physical appearance alone is enough to keep you laughing. While singing their tribute song, ‘The Maggot’, to their tallest, ugliest member, you are greeted with an overwhelming feeling of how refreshingly unlike today’s rent-a-celebrity pop stars the band really are. To dedicate their closest effort to a love song, ‘You Knows I Loves You’, to “anyone who’s ever used a bowl of washing up water to find a puncture in their tyre”, is just inspired. You have no idea where it’s coming from and that always makes for a great gig, or a great stand up routine, and tonight is somewhere between these two things. ‘Gun’s Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do’ gets everyone shouting and waving their visors in the air, and their decision to end the night amidst a flurry of balloons for the new single ‘Your Mother’s Got a Penis’ should ensure that it charts just as impressively as it’s predecessor.
The only question that hangs over a thoroughly enjoyable gig is what’s next for the GLC? While they are clearly on top of their game tonight, there is a feeling that the joke is going to start wearing thin soon enough. Fortunately, The GLC will all be far too out of it to even notice or care, which is probably what gives them their charm in the first place. For now at least Goldie Lookin Chain are an absolute must see group - as funny as Peter Kay, as rocking as The Beastie Boys. They aren’t a band that’s built to last, but while they are around they are worth every penny. You knows it.
