Margate's Winter Gardens

Seven years after posting their first top 10 hit with the student union jukebox staple Chelsea Dagger The Fratellis are back and, I’m delighted to say, they haven’t lost their touch.

Touring with their new album We Need Medicine, it isn’t long before the boys from Glasgow have a packed Winter Gardens literally jumping as they open the night with This Old Ghost Town.

It’s clear from the wide range of ages dancing – which mainly involved jumping and bouncing off each other – and singing along to hits old and new that The Fratellis have broad appeal. They have an inoffensive post Brit-pop style that is somehow still edgy and relevant.

The music is upbeat and infectious with rocky influences and that was reflected by the party atmosphere and the energy evident in the auditorium.

The band never strays too far from its roots – if it ain’t broke and all that – but there’s enough variety to demonstrate that they’re not afraid to take a few risks.

New recordings – Seven Days Seven Nights and the excellent Until She Saves My Soul – are liberally interspersed with older material including Henrietta, the brilliant Baby Fratelli and the incredibly catchy Whistle For The Choir.

Lead singer Jon Fratelli dominated the stage with his strong vocals and slick guitar solos, particularly on Jeanie Nitro and This Is Not The End Of The World while bassist Barry and drummer Mince enthusiastically bash and thrash and thump out the rhythms.

And in the strictest tradition of saving the best until last, The Fratellis return with their signature dish Chelsea Dagger and a wonderful cover of Dion’s Runaround Sue.

It was the final flourish of what had been a breathless, brilliant and brash non-stop 90 minutes of superb entertainment served up by a band very close to the top of their game.

Paul Acres