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The Wombats play raucous London show

The Wombats, Shockwaves NME awards show.                                               Pic: James Quinton

The Wombats, Shockwaves NME awards show. Pic: James Quinton

Band headline Shockwaves NME Awards bash with Glasvegas in support

The Wombats played a raucous, high-octane Shockwaves NME Awards show last night (February 25) at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire venue.

The Liverpool band played to a devoted crowd, delighting the throng with hits such as 'Moving To New York' and 'Kill The Director'.

Following an support slot from Eugene McGuinness, hotly-tipped Glaswegian band Glasvegas took the stage following their trademark eerie intro music.

The band, fronted by James Allan, played a tense set that was punctuated by shouts from the crowd for the headliners to play.

Early in the set a fan threw a small object onto the stage, riling Allan, causing him to threaten to “come down into the crowd” and deal with anyone who threw anything else during the set, before he urged the audience to “show a little respect”.

After impressing with songs such as 'Daddy's Gone', 'Geraldine' and the closing number, a cover of The Ronettes' 'Be My Baby', the band, watched by Alan McGee and Dirty Pretty Things frontman Carl Barat, left the stage having at least partially won over the crowd.

At 9.30pm (GMT) The Wombats took the stage to immense applause. The crowd were hugely energetic and vocal throughout their set, screaming the lyrics of songs such as 'Backfire At The Disco' and 'Party In A Forest (Where's Laura?)' at immense volume.

Lead singer Matthew Murphy gave out a warning to energetic fans up on the balconies, making reference to "a fan who was killed last September at a Smashing Pumpkins concert" in Vancouver. “Speaking of ‘'Kill'”, drummer Dan Haggis added, before the band played 'Kill The Director'.

The band left the stage after a rapturously-received rendition of 'Let's Dance TO Joy Division'. They returned for an encore in which they played a version of the 'Postman Pat' theme tune, with bassist Tord Overland singing vocals in his native Norwegian tongue and Murphy playing drums.


The Shockwaves NME Awards 2008 take place this Thursday (February 28) at a special ceremony in London. Follow all the action here, head to NME.COM/awardsvote for full details.

Comments (2)

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AdamShanklyUK 

Feb 26, 2008

Wombats win my award for "Worst Band in History... "

Thankfully, they will be forgotten about in a years time.

Womba...who?

wilsonio 

Feb 26, 2008

The Wombats are the best thing since sliced bread!!!

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