A joyful blast of nostalgia hit Blackpool as Primary School Bangers turned assembly hall singalongs into a full-throated, feel-good night out – complete with harmonies, humour and a few surprisingly sharp reflections on the songs we grew up with. Stephen Dunstan joined in.
James B Partridge’s Primary School Bangers is something of a cult phenomenon. In this case ‘bangers’ are the more popular songs from the school assemblies of our collective youth. This Monday at the Winter Gardens was Blackpool’s first opportunity to experience this feel good nostalgia.
The evening was staged in The Arena. This meant that the seating was on the same level with James slightly higher on a raised stage. I wouldn’t want to overstate the school assembly similarities but it was the auditorium in the building that most gave that vibe.
You could probably guess a lot of the staples of an evening like this. Traditional Christian school hymns dominate, from All Things Bright And Beautiful to One More Step Along The World I Go via He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. These are generally played straight, but with some knowing references to double entendres (beavers, purple headed mountains etc). The host is a skilled musician and gets the audience singing harmonies and rounds – I’d had a pint of cider before it got underway but it all sounded good to me.
After the interval there is a mash up where Partridge works from audience suggestions to do a montage of rather disparate songs. This kind of improvisation is always enjoyable when done well, and there’s no doubt it’s carried off here.
Some of the material is best experienced by those whose school days were in the 1990s, and this is explicitly acknowledged. There are references to pop songs, TV theme tunes and even advertising jingles of that era. The popularity of these earworms means the momentum of the night rarely slackens off – most of the audience have come to have a good time. There are clearly one or two ‘plus ones’ who are a bit bemused by the whole thing, mostly men it has to be said, in a predominantly female crowd.
There are some nice counterpoints to the generally cheery upbeat nature of the material and the vibe. A rather ‘Scarred For Life’ like interlude reflects the fact that some of the songs we sang in school, like the public information films our generation grew up with, were frankly disarming when you got behind the melody and listened to the actual words. The Busted song What I Go To School For is also examined lyrically and shown to be, erm, not very politically correct.
Campfire type songs have a section of their own in the second half and the group feelgood experience holds good throughout. By the end it’s clear there’s going to be a standing ovation, and whilst I wasn’t sure if it was that kind of event before I arrived there is a call for an encore which is duly obliged.
James B Partidge took time out of his schedule earlier in the month to speak to us at Blackpool Social Club. You can read the interview here.
