When I was a 16 year old scamp growing up in Dunstable, the local record shop had a number of records whose covers intrigued me. The Foetus All Nude Revue. Talulah Gosh. The Bambi Slam. One weekend I took the plunge and bought The Wolfhounds' “Son Of Nothing”. It wasn't that great, to be honest, but I sought out their other records regardless. The marvellous album “Bright And Guilty” was next, along with “Unseen Ripples From A Pebble”, and various 12″ EPs. The skewed guitar riffs – at obtuse angles to the 4 note melodies – were irrisistable. I joined The Keatons in 1989, and we were lucky enough to play with them at The Falcon, and later at Busby's (what's now The Mean Fiddler, underneath The Astoria.) They were glorious – centre stage not taken by the singer, Dave Callahan, but bent-double guitarist Andy Golding, squeezing out immense riffs and chords, sweating like a pig.

Tonight they decided to reform for a one off gig in Camden to celebrate their 20th anniversary. It was odd seeing 4 overweight men attempt to recapture their former glory, but it worked.

The first time I saw them I asked Callahan: “will you be playing Rent Act?” It was one of their singles, and one of their best tunes. He sneered slightly. “No, we won't,” he replied. But bands that reform after 15 years of inactivity have a much better idea of which of their songs are great, and which aren't, and tonight we were treated to a greatest hits set. I can't pretend that it was a comfortable experience, standing in a venue in Camden with other 30-somethings, watching 30-40 somethings batter their guitars out of shape, but I'm glad I was there.

The set list (mainly for 's benefit:)

Charterhouse
LA Juice
Skyscrapers
Another Hazy Day On The Lazy “A”

Non Specific Song
Happy Shopper
A Mess Of Paradise
Rule Of Thumb
Son Of Nothing
Rite Of Passage
Rent Act
Anti Midas Touch
Blown Away
Rain Stops Play
Tropic Of Cancer
Handy Howard
Pushin' Too Hard (encore)