When cult heroes The Man From Delmonte announced last year that they were reforming to play shows in Manchester and London, there was immediate excitement and the shows quickly sold out. Having last played in 1990, the social media campaign to get the four piece to reunite paid off and following last night's rousing show at Band On The Wall, The Man From Delmonte moved twenty miles north to play the more intimate Later@ show in Waterfoot's Horse & Bamboo.
Later@ is the brand of Paula Greenwood, music mogul and founder of the much missed Playtime Records. Forming last year, Later@ have been showcasing music and spoken word events in and around Rawtenstall and Rossendale. Tonight is their first show in the excellent The Horse and Bamboo – a multi purpose theatre and arts centre. The capacity crowd snapped up tickets for this event in hours and in all my thirty-five years of gig going, I've never quite seen an audience reaction like tonight.
Before Mike West and his band take to the stage though, we are treated to garage punk three piece The Mudd Club, featuring Mike's two children Sadie and Julian. The Mudd Club rattle through a dozen or so nuggets mostly taken from their excellent Give Me A Thrill album including Friday Night On A Monday Morning and New Tattoo. Out the back, Julian is the most amazing drummer I've witnessed for quite some time, playing like a hybrid Animal / Keith Moon. Incredible.
After a short break, Mike, Sheila, Martin and Howard take to the stage. The audience - almost all of them being at Band On The Wall twenty-four hours before - are enthralled and completely engaged for the next two hours or so as The Man From Delmonte play most of their back catalogue, peppered with some of Mike's songs from his Truckstop Honeymoon band.
There's no set list as such with the band pretty much deciding what to play on the spot. Mike spends the first five minutes on stage fine-tuning his guitar and ensuring the sound is absolutely perfect before launching into Like A Millionaire. The connection between band and audience begins immediately. The chemistry is incredible and there's an overflowing of love and respect for each other like I've never witnessed at a gig before. Big Noise follows with the crowd join in on backing vocals. Mike West is an incredible yet unassuming front man. Sharing stories of his life and sharing jokes with us throughout the set, it only adds to the joy of the evening. Australia Fair sees more big audience participation. Early highlights include The Good Things In Life and the rocking Sun Serious.
There's no drop in appreciation or enthusiasm throughout the evening. If anything, it builds as the improvised set continues and the rousing My Love Is Like A Gift You Can't Return gets the biggest response of the night. The pace slows down a little with Mathematically Speaking before Water picks up the pace again and another massed sing-a-long. Mike then tells an hilarious tale of a gig at the Duke of York in Leeds before playing the Truckstop Honeymoon tune Buddy Holly. The set draws to a close with a rousing Lebanese American Man, leaving Mike time for a glass of Malbec before the encore and an anthemic Will Nobody Save Louise.
The Man From Delmonte return may have been a surprise, but there's no doubt that their loyal and dedicated fan base have embraced it and the applause at the end of the marathon set says it all. It was an honour and a privilege to witness them in such intimate surroundings. My first time, but hopefully not my last.
The Man From Delmonte Facebook group can be found here and their store can be found here where you can buy their retrospective 2CD compilation of released studio and live material.
They play Manchester Academy 2 (April 12) and London 229 Club (25).
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