Ska with The Selecter & 20 Dead Camels
The Selecter, 20 Dead Camels
& Chico and the chocolate factory

The Esquires, Bedfordshire, England
Saturday 19th January 2002
by Two Tone Tony

Well Saturday night certainly turned a few heads in 20 Dead Camels favour, what a feeling they must have felt after their set at the Esquires! It was a sell out, by 8.30pm they stopped people coming through the door, the limit had been reached and there were no tickets left! The place was packed.

First band on was Chico and the chocolate factory, they were young and a little concerned that they were supporting The Selecter & 20 Dead Camels, although a little nervous they played quite well, a bit to heavy for my liking but they done ok.

Next up 20 Dead Camels came on and as they started their set, there was an invasion on the dance floor and a surge of bodies trying to get up to the front of the stage. There were people dancing and waving their arms about, all going crazy (fair size skinhead following) with the high impact sound of Ska from the camels.

I didn't expect this! I was totally amazed at what was happening. Rather than get squashed up against the barrier at the front of the stage, I managed to get sharply out the way and stood up on a chair to see over all the heads (I'm getting too old for this). Apparently the camels have a very large following from Northampton and most of them turned up at the Esquires.

The Camels finished their set and couldn't leave the stage through the yelling from the crowd, they were given the go ahead for another song which whipped the crowd up into another frenzy. Again after they finished there encore, the crowd again yelled for more, I've been following the camels for a while now and every show they put on seem to accumulate more and more fans!

Next up and looking pretty sheepish after the camels performance was The Selecter, though Pauline looking as confident as ever and they begun their set. Looking at the crowd they didn't seem so enthusiastic as when the camels played, but then again they did look pretty knackered! It's a good job The Selecter started off with some more mellow stuff, it gave the crowd half hour to regain their strength for the last few songs from Selecter.

Pauline looked well at ease as the crowd who are now already hyped up began to get back into the swing of things. I must say I thought that the set they done was a little lame, maybe it was because they had a different drummer than the last time I saw them.

My opinion and from the feedback I got from people at the venue, and to be honest, the people whom I spoke to had come to see the camels, Selecter was just a bonus! Most of them thought 20 Dead Camels had easily stolen the night from Selecter, and when I asked why? Most replies were in the vein of: They have a different style of Ska that we've not heard before, it's not your average sound of Ska, It's a lot more lively and the band put on a great show and enjoy themselves while doing it!

Other answers were:

John S. (Bedford) Their music just makes you tap your feet, and by their third song I found myself up the front with all the others.

Allan J. (Hitchin) You could tell they were having a laugh, not only with us but on the stage as well. I'd go an see em again, they kick arse.

Deb & Nikki (Bedford) We've been hearing a lot about them so we came up tonight to see if they're as good as what people say, we're coming back when they play here again without a doubt.

I spoke with the camels after the gig and asked them a few questions:

Q. Do you tour with The Selecter a lot?
A. Cliff (guitar) No we just meet up now and again, we all get on ok and use each others equip when needed.

Q. I saw you talking with Pauline when you were clearing up, what did she have to say?
A. Cliff - We were talking about the amount of people who turned up tonight and it makes a change to have a full house and everyone enjoying the music.

Q. Will the camels be playing here again?
A. Mark (bass) Yeah I think so, they weren't sure whether to put us on here tonight at first, but I think they know who we are now. I believe they've already asked our promoter Jet, if we can headline sometime in the future.

Q. What gigs have you got lined up?
A. Mark - We've been in the studio for a while now trying to get the album finished so we've not had much time for gigging. Next Saturday we're up in Northampton where most of our support comes from, that'll be fun. Once the album is out the way, we'll be back on the road!

Q. On your flyer is says your music is on the soundtrack for a film! What film?
A. Cliff - It's a film called "Ruder then You" It's about a bloke who works a 9-5 job, who becomes a skinhead, I read the script the other day and feels a little like the film Trainspotting, It should be finished around April time I think. Don't hold me to that!

Q. Who's idea was it to wear the Fez's?
A. Mark - Dan, he suggested it at rehearsals once an Cliff went out and got three, they ended up being given to three girls in the crowd who wanted them, after that we had a few people ask where we got them from! A new craze maybe! Take a look at this (Mark showing me Cliff's Fez singed by Pauline, it says "Pauline Black - The Selecter "The camels are brilliant"") cool eh? I bet he won't give that away.

Well that's all I could get from them as they went for the bar and the security was trying to get people out. Summing it up on the night, everyone had a great time, the atmosphere was excellent and with out a doubt, and I think most will agree with me, the camels were the band of the night.

If you ever get the chance to see 20 Dead Camels, do so! You'll thank me for it and you'll have an excellent night. Not only that but I guarantee you'll see then again and again after watching them for the first time.

Keep it tight and Skank all night.

Tony Green. Bedfordshire, England