It was actually the 26th by the time the band took to the stage. Not scheduled to appear until 12.30am it was closer to 01.00am by the time the band were announced. It had been a long wait...but it was worth it. Baz & Nino came out first and plugged in, both wearing the black Sputnik2 uniform. Then Degz followed, wearing a feathered green glitter hat and breasts. Yes breasts as well as the black body paint he wore at the previous gig.

They started with The King Of Rock N Roll which sounded really good and led nicely into Psyckodelic. I've really warmed to this track now and was singing along at the front. Nino's guitar playing was much more evident on this track than at Madame Jo Jo's and certainly sounds better for it. After this came a mixture of old and new tracks, I can't remember the exact order but 21st Century Boy, World War 4, Jayne Mansfield, Atari Baby, Slag, Dabble and Love Missile all followed. The band shined throughout but Martin was plagued by a dodgy microphone that kept cutting out which seemed to be pissing him off a lot. And quite rightly to. This was resolved eventually. All the songs rocked, especially Don't Dabble With The Devil which now has loads more guitar on.

The whole night reminded me of the Sigue Sigue Sputnik gig in Wolverhampton in 2000. Then, as tonight, the band were dogged by technical problems and an unappreciative audience. There was a gang of us down the front going for it but everyone else just sat around and watched.

I guess after a evening of cover bands they couldn't cope with a real star.

After Love Missile the band left stage but quickly returned with a blinding version of Rockit Miss USA. Andy's done a great job of re programming the old Sputnik tracks and this one rounded off a great show by the guys. All the old tracks sound very reminiscent of the Sputnik of old, thundering bass line with wild wild guitar. I spoke to Martin and Baz afterwards about forthcoming shows and recordings. A London show, possibly with 2 female drummers, may be on the cards before Christmas. A show in Brighton may be in the pipeline too. Recording wise, Martin says Smart2 will be a complete album with new songs and guitar versions of the tracks on Smart1. New recordings of classic Sputnik tracks should follow that as well as writing new songs for future releases.

Guess they're gonna be busy then!!

And then we left, we being myself, nephew Andy and niece Sarah who enjoyed the gig, and Mr & Mrs SputnikFred.

Good night out, well worth all the travelling and waiting. Martin was asked, while on stage, if his balls were as big as his tits. He didn't answer!!

And Baz got his own back on me after my comments about the Mr Benn song on my old Chelmsford review, on seeing me remove my hat he told me that as I always wear the hat he thought I was bald!!!

Sorry this isn't my best review. Baz says he could sleep for 100 years. I know how he feels and I was only there one night. Guess I really am getting old.

TOGETHER AGAIN, THE NORFOLK CONTINGENT - DOC, SPUTNIKFRED & SPUTNIKBIKER

SPUTNIK2, DOC AND LYNN

WITH MY LOVELY LOVELY NEPHEW ANDY AND NIECE SARAH

WITH THE BOY ANDY