The Professionals - Rebellion Blackpool 5th August 2022

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The Professionals - Rebellion
Blackpool 5th August 2022

Friday early evening in the Empress Ballroom is as good a slot as any at the Rebellion Festival. It's only day 2 so there are plenty of punters with plenty of energy left.

Cookie, Tom, Toshi and Chris Catalyst kicked proceedings off with the latest single Easily Lead, due for release soon as a picture disc. Then it was right back to the start of it all with Just Another Dream, still a spine-tingler to this very day. The nature of Rebellion tends to lend itself towards playing the 'hits' and the band were conscious that a sizeable chunk of the crowd may be unfamiliar with the newer material. The result was a balanced set which hopefully grabbed a few new converts. Tom told us they'd throw in some new stuff "otherwise it would be boring for us" but that's never an issue as the new songs sound epic with Going Going Gone and Spike Me Baby blasted out in typically robust fashion.

Silly Thing was dedicated to the recently departed Jordon, Kenny the Beard and “especially Mensi”. It hit the spot, but then again so did the more recent Hats Off which followed. Lonely Boy "dedicated to Steve Agoraphobic Jones" was dusted off as was, for the very first time, Mods Skins Punks from the band's abandoned 1980 LP. The latter really was a treat, as The Professionals haven't played it live for 42 years. It sounded just as I’d hoped, meaty and magnificent. “To get Cookie to do that is a fucking miracle” Tom told us.

Crowd pleasers Kick Down The Doors and 1-2-3 kept up the energy, then with barely a moment to pause, the Sex Pistols' Problems crashed in. Endearingly chaotic in its execution, Paul took on lead vocals for a verse and clearly enjoyed it, before Tom continued the vibe with some improvised lyrics of his own. Stepping Stone rounded off the set in an equally buoyant fashion with the customary band introductions allowing Chris to stretch those strings.

At one point Tom explained to the less enlightened why Steve Jones wasn't involved; "You’re stuck with me". I think he sometimes forgets he's been in the reformed Professionals for seven years. There's no need to explain, we love you Tom!

Phil Singleton

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