It's been a long time since gigs have been this much fun not to mention as colourful ... and that's just a description of the audience! Tonight's cool looking crowd ranged across the spectrum from punk to goth to glam with the obvious splattering of studenty types infiltrating the ranks, one of whom apparently wondered "Why are all these punks here? This is a Backyard Babies gig!" Ahem, quite. Just one of the quotes to amuse me whilst waiting for the appearance of Scandanavia's favourite sons.

Could Swedish sleaze-punksters Backyard Babies be the saviours of rock n' roll? Perhaps not but they've definitely given the scene a well needed wake up call, not to mention an almightly kick up the arse. Tonight's headline set was pure adrenalin charged madness from the second the band stormed on to the stage. With amps dripping with leopardskin and red glitter, even the Babies' equipment screams SLEAZE!!

With his smeared eyeliner and various piercings, guitarist Dregen was born to be a rockstar. Passionately flailing his six string whilst churning out ear bleeding riffs, he's an impressive sight and no doubt an inspiration to many rock n' roll rebels of the future. Heavily tattooed frontman Nicke, with his spikey black hair, pure punk sneer and raucous manner, is Sid Vicious incarnate. Held together by the excellent rhythm section of drummer Peder and low-slung bassist Johan, his shock of blonde hair constantly flying, Backyard Babies have all the essential ingredients to scorch their name in rock n' roll history just like the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Guns n' Roses and Hanoi Rocks did before them.

Dregen - Born to be a rockstar! Photo by Karen

Rock n' roll! Bassist Johan - Photo by Karen

Tearing through a potent set made up of such live favourites as "Made Me Madman", "Backstabber", "Ghetto You", "Fill Up The Bad Machine" and "UFO Romeo", the Babies' high energy stage presence provokes the mother of all moshpits from the crowd whose frenzied pogo salute is not for the faint hearted. Anyone looking for any ballads to chill out to or just a second to catch a well needed breather can forget it! The nearest this band come to a mellow moment is the excellent "Highlights" which only races along at 99 miles an hour rather than the usual ton!

Speaking of highlights, this whole gig was one raunchy, dirty night of sweat-soaked gutter rock n' roll. The furious "Powderhead" and "Bombed (Outta My Mind)", which brought the main body of the set to a close, hit the audience harder than a Mike Tyson punch. All this before hotter than hell encores of the compulsively catchy "Look At You" plus a raw and rauchy cover of Hanoi Rocks' infamous "Taxi Driver" end what had been a gutwrenching, thrill seeking, white knuckle ride of punk filled sleaze in it's scuzziest form. Yum! Please sir, can I have some more?!