By Jonny Bakes
The Macc Lads may have gotten older and the world may have changed around them, to a point where there are plenty of people even less tolerant to their antics, but this hasn’t stopped the band that spent most of the ’80s getting banned from venues and even entire towns across the ÜK. They’re still alive and fuelled by Boddingtons (although arguably that’s not the same as it used to be either) bringing in 2026 with a new album ‘Wild Cider Wife’, so it’s only natural that I dusted off my press credentials and made my way to Nottingham’s Rock City for a night of ‘Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy’.
After the customary few pints of Boddies, I made it to the venue in time to see support band Kid Klumsy who, in true Macc Lads style, had been drafted into play through a phone call at 10pm the night before.
My initial reaction was that they felt like a bit of a placeholder, but the sound guy seemed to wake up part way through the set in time to hear a song about Cliff Richard’s arsehole “shining like a beacon in the night” which is more in tune with the kind of night I expected.
The crowd seemed to have similar thoughts with their lukewarm reception to Kid Klumsy – I guess when you’re here to see the “rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom” you have an appetite for something particularly outrageous and obscene as a support. Kid Klumsy don’t quite hit the mark here, but had I seen them on a different lineup I think they would have stood out more. I’ll probably hunt them down so I can give Cliff Richard a proper listen!
While waiting for the main event, I made my way to the bar where I was disappointed to see that Rock City hadn’t got with the programme and ordered in Boddingtons for the evening, but at least there was a plentiful supply of beers as this will surely have taken a hammering during the night. Above the bar there was a sign promoting the venue’s inclusivity and declaring that the following would not be tolerated: racism, sexism, homophobia, discrimination and aggression (among others). Which means, by all accounts, The Macc Lads and any crowd members caught singing along should have been thrown out within the first song of the night! Fortunately, this wasn’t the case and the night went ahead uninterrupted.
The Macc Lads took to the stage with Mutley gurning away to launch straight into ‘Sweaty Betty’ before announcing that he had been sent on a mission from the Macclesfield tourist board to get more people to come to Macc. With the selling point that now Macclesfield has removed most of its paedophiles then it’s a safer place to bring your kids, or words to that effect at least.
Now, there’s nothing quite like hearing a whole venue scream “she wore big knickers and worked on’t sewage farm” but that definitely set the energy and tone for the rest of the night. Within the first few songs, including ‘Drinks for Girls’ and the classic ‘Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy’, pints were flying and the crowd was bouncing. Although with the price of beer at venues these days, I hope it was only the dregs of pints flying around, not full pints (and also hopefully beer, of course!)
The energy did not dip for the rest of the set as The Macc Lads blasted their way through a solid 26 songs from their back catalogue, including a healthy dose of tracks from ‘Wild Cider Wife’. There were some of my absolute favourites including ‘Nagasaki Sauce’, ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Fluffy Pup’ broken up by Mutley’s classic brand of utter filthy jokes.
There was even a “fat bastard competition” to find the biggest bloke in the crowd to gift a 4XL shirt, for which they managed to find a man mountain who stayed and danced around on stage during, aptly, ‘Fat Bastard’ (a parody of Sweet’s ‘Blockbuster’ for the uninitiated). It was great to see the whole crowd belting out some utter filthy lyrics, such as “close your legs love, your meat smells” or “she bangs like the shithouse door when the plague’s in town”.
All in all, it was a pretty wild night at Rock City with a healthy dose of completely outrageous music. It was definitely not the kind of night for the faint hearted, or the easily offended, but for those with a stronger constitution The Macc Lads still put on a belter of a show. I was surprised to see that, as a man in his 30s, I wasn’t one of the youngest in the room and the Lads have clearly managed to start to pull in the younger generation (although there were also a few “Dad-and-Lad” situations) but I was not surprised at the male:female ratio in the room… It definitely seems like The Macc Lads are more of a man’s band these days, much to Mutley’s disappointment.
For me, a night with The Macc Lads was exactly what I needed after a tough and serious start to the year, sometimes you just need to let loose and shout the kind of things that you’re not allowed to shout in polite company! They’re continuing this tour as the year progresses, including a date closer to home in Carlisle… so I may go to that too. It’s safe to say that The Macc Lads have still got it, so I’m going to make the most of it while I can!