Skunk Anansie/So Good - O2 Academy, Glasgow, 10th April 2025

The enduring phenomenon that is Skunk Anansie arrived in Glasgow to a sold out O2 Academy for their tour promoting their new album ‘The Painful Truth’ and left the crowd with the knowledge that the real truth of the evening is that this band are untouchable as a live act.

It’s been a few years since I last saw Skunk Anansie live and it was at the same iconic venue as tonight's gig that I stood in awe at just how brilliant a live act they were back then. I was hoping that I would experience the same feeling again tonight.

Before Skunk Anansie take to the stage there is the small matter of the evenings support band, called ‘So Good’ to listen too.

Glasgow is a welcoming place for bands and whilst I had never heard of ‘So Good’ it was clear that many of the crowd had done. As they take to the stage there appear to be 3 men, though I don’t actually know they are men, dressed in what appears to be boiler suit style clothing and wearing bright pink balaclavas.

This is the guitar, bass guitar and drum section and I am immediately reminded of the ‘Pussy Riot’ band of a few years ago. Three girls then take to the stage in dressed in American high school outfits reminiscent of the 80s movie ‘Porkys’ complete red berets, knee length socks and some Tartan draped over their shoulders.

The music and lyrics are hard and are peppered with strong language and politics with an over use of the middle finger salute which the crowd are fully encouraged to engage in. This is mainly aimed at US President Donald Trump and a proportion of the crowd reciprocate.

With their short set continuing mainly on a political theme, there was time for reflection on sexuality and, from what I could make out, a specific part of the female anatomy together with asking the crowd if it was true that Glasgow men had big dicks.

You can imagine the response to that line of questioning.

With the support act over, and a 30 minute wait for the arrival, of Skunk Anansie, the temperature in the venue seemed to rise and it was rapidly becoming a sweat box. This was my memory of the last time I saw the band in this venue but no-one seemed to mind.

Having initially split up in 2001 then reforming in 2009, Skunk Anansie have re-established themselves as a formidable studio band and even more formidable live band. Their lead, bass and rhythm section being just as integral to the band as their iconic front woman in “Skin’.

With the O2 Academy Glasgow absolutely full, and with no space for anyone else within the tightly packed front standing area, the lights are dim and New Rose by The Damned comes over the PA. 

Skunk Anansie take to the stage to a massive Glasgow welcome and launch into ‘This Means War’ with lead vocalist ’Skin’, dressed in black and with her eyes masked with black mascara, prowling the stage like a caged wild animal, its clear that this is going to be a masterclass in stage presence, vocal prowess and musical brilliance.

Immediately following the opening number with ‘Charlie Big Potato’ and ‘Because Of You’, I've rarely seen a crowd so much in the palm of the hand of the band on stage since I first saw Bowie in concert nearly 40 years ago - Skunk Anansie really are that powerful a live presence.

The set continues with a mix of old songs, new songs and the familiar, but well constructed political themes, which are well received by the crowd. The mix of the old and new songs balance each other out and its clear some thought has been put into the setlist for this tour.

With Skunk Anansie having written and played live some amazing softer songs, it is without doubt the harder songs that are the real crowd pleasers. Taking the fantastic ‘Weak’ and ‘Hedonism’ out of the equation as they are the obvious pleasers for those who are not as familiar with the back catalogue as some, it’s the bands earlier music that gets the crowd really bouncing with tracks such as ‘I Can Dream’ and ‘Yes it’s Fucking Political’ proving to be the highlights of the evening for most.

Leaving the stage to join the crowd on more than one occasion, lead vocalist Skin surfed her way back to the stage to finish the main set with ‘Little Baby Swastika’ before the band returned for their encores including a snippet of the Led Zeppelin track ‘Whole Lotta Love’.

How to explain the live spectacle of a Skunk Anansie gig to a newcomer - is it the he demonic stare of vocalist Skin or is it the combined musical talents of Martin "Ace" Kent on guitar, Richard "Cass" Lewis on bass or Mark Henderson on drums? No, it’s the classic formula of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts with Skunk Anansie.

The easiest way to sum up Skunk Anansie live its to simply go see them. You won’t be disappointed.