God Save The Sex Pistols - The Professionals Ritz Manchester, 13th February 2019

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The Professionals
Ritz Manchester, 13th February 2019
Review & Pictures

With The Professionals as support, Ruts DC's The Crack tour has the feeling of a double header. The audience for both bands is not dissimilar, so it also provides a welcome chance to convert more punters to The Prof's own brand of rock 'n' roll.

Not unlike The Professionals, Ruts DC are re-establishing themselves as a major force once more. With years of ground work behind them, the original rhythm section of drummer Dave Ruffy and bassist Segs Jennings have shown beyond doubt they are able to carry on the Ruts magnificent legacy. The size of the crowd - including many Professionals fans - backs this up.

The Profs kick the evening off with a 45 minute set. It's a slick aural onslaught, with material evenly split between old and new. What grabs you is how well it all sits together. In terms of sound, energy and style, the songs all come across as one coherent whole. There's no arsing about or meandering down self indulgent cul-de-sacs. No, The Professionals catalogue remains consistantly direct.

Cookie's drumming will always be a joy to behold. How does he keep that fit?! The dual guitars remain a deadly combination. Chris maintains his relaxed yet focused style, while Tom is fearless, dynamic, and can handle a song. Most crucially of all, Tom can confidently claim to have shaken off any ghost of Jonesy that may have been lingering; his evolution into the band's permanent front man is complete. Toshi has replaced Paul Myers on bass, and while we all love Myo, you cannot knock this new injection of youthful swagger as he effortlessly strides the boards.

The opening couplet Join The Professionals and Good Man Down are the perfect illustration of why the old and the new work so well together. Power, melody, and sing-a-long-ability are constants throughout. 1-2-3 and Going Going Gone - another old/new combo - follow. The giant strides taken by the band in the wake of their current album are never clearer. The band can justifiably drop Silly Thing into the middle of their set as they move away from a reliance on holding back traditional crowd pleasers. You only have to hear the rousing Rewind to know why; it's easily a match for the preceding Pistols' classic.

Just Another Dream is a song you can never tire from hearing live; a song Tom tells us he bought himself back in the day. It should have been massive. As we contemplate this great injustice we take a brief breather as the band perform the mid-paced Bad Baby. Taken from the new LP, it's a welcome addition, sounding particulary tough live. The adrenaline kicks in once more as the explosive Hats Off roars forth. The epic Kick Down The Doors which follows sounds almost pedestrian by comparison - although it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, even now. The structure of the song is perfectly suited to The Professionals in 2019. Just listen as they stretch and bend every last note.

With the clock ticking, Let Go races for the finish line, its electrifying speed leaving nothing but exhausted fans and new converts in its slipstream.

How did they go down with those here purely for the Ruts DC? Well, with the merchandise table doing brisk business throughout the evening, I'd say it was another success. How can you not like The Professionals?

If you are going to see the '40 Years Of The Crack' tour, for goodness sake, get there early.

Review & pictures by Phil Singleton

God Save the Sex Pistols