Live Review

The Levellers – Manchester Apollo

• 20th Mar 2008

Heavily influenced by punk and folk and named after a 17th-Century political movement, the Levellers have been the voice of a huge underground anti-authority movement for a generation, fighting social injustice and supporting environmental issues.

Formed in 1988 in Brighton after a chance meeting between singer-guitarist Mark Chadwick and bassist Jez Cunningham at a local boozer, the sextet strived to be different from the word go. It was always their intention to stand the test of time, unlike so many of the flash-in-the-pan acts the Brighton scene spawned in the late 80s, and tonight sees them take to the stage at Manchester Apollo for the second date of their 20th anniversary tour.

A great deal has changed over the course of two decades – technological advancements have revolutionised the way we live our lives, governments have risen and fallen – but less than two songs in, it was apparent that nothing has changed where the Levellers are concerned. They are still the undisputed kings of fiddle-driven, punk-infused folk, and can muster just as much energy as they could back in the early 90s when they were at their commercial peak.

This being a milestone tour, the set was something of a retrospective one, heavily weighted towards old favourites. ‘Sell Out’, ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Carry Me’ were all lapped up by the near-capacity crowd, proving such classics have timeless appeal among fans; and the anthemic ‘One Way of Life’ sent the venue into a jigging frenzy without a hint of irony to be found.

Fiddle player Jon Sevink was on fine form, truly shining during gentle folk ballad ‘The Boatman’ and showing off his jigging skills during upbeat numbers. Accentuated by the venue’s impeccable sound quality Chadwick’s vocal prowess is showing no signs of faltering anytime soon, much like the Levellers themselves.

After blasting through live favourite ‘The Boatman’, the band left the stage to rapturous applause before treating fans to two triumphant encores. For the first, Chadwick introduced a small brass section as ‘the ones with the talent’, who accompanied them through ‘Dog Train’ and quintessential drinking anthem ‘Just the One’. With their second encore they demonstrated the timeless quality of 1991’s ‘Liberty Song’ before inviting members of the support band on stage for an explosive finale.

Since the release of their first record in the late 80s, the Levellers have always been synonymous with hardline left wing politics, but tonight was about the music alone. There were no self-righteous lectures about saving the environment between songs, and the anti-war imagery projected onto the stage was subtle. As all good bands should, the Levellers let their music do the talking.

The Levellers are unlikely to win many of new fans with regular low-key releases and set lists comprised almost entirely of the ‘Levelling the Land’ album, but they will certainly keep the legions they already have crying out for more.