27 March 2026, Paisley Arts Centre
Getting off the train at Gilmour Street in Paisley, the cold wind blowing down the streets resulted in just about everyone arriving at the Paisley Arts Centre wrapped up for the elements outside. In contrast no doubt, they were warm inside in expectation of Stanley Odd’s return to the stage for the first time in four years or more.
A rare live performance with the music and words rooted in rap. Not just a rapper with some background loops feeding into the set though. This is a full band experience that fuses electronic, funk, punk and hip-hop with the guitars, bass, drums and keys an integral part of the show.
And helping in the call and response lyrics was Rebecca Shearing who releases her own music as SHEARS, the Leith producer and pop artist. She was an ideal accompaniment to Dave Hook, or Solareye as many know him.
He was keen to let everyone know at the outset, that the night’s show would reflect heavily on songs of the past. Would that be ok? There was no doubting the audience’s affirmation of this particular theme for the setlist. In truth though, the songs played from their most recent release, Stay Odd, were as equally absorbing.
There was one major drawback to this return to songs written almost 10 years previously. The uncompromising lyricism that took aim at global, national and local issues during that period are as equally relevant today as they were back then.
Trump is back. Theresa May has been replaced by Keir Starmer. The pound in Croydon is still held more valuable than the pound in Paisley. There’s still troubles in the Middle East. There’s still child poverty in abundance. Wherever you look, there is a wealth of discord for any rapper or hip-hop artist to tap into.
Throw a hot topic into the mix. Add the energy of the band, combined with the rat-a-tat delivery of the lyrics and this all leant itself to a special politically charged evening with the audience ever eager to participate.
It’s been four long years waiting on their return. Everyone would hope that the gap until next time is far shorter. Will the context of the songs change? The more things change, the more they stay the same, but we can but hope.
And I think we would all agree it’s a great little venue to listen and watch music.
