RUBINOOS & SURFIN' LUNGS

229 The Venue
229 Great Portland Street, London 
Monday 9th January 2017


It has been 37 years since powerpop giants The Rubinoos played in the UK and with support from our favourite UK pop punk band the Surfin' Lungs this was a much anticipated gig.

Rain, a late change of venue and a rail and tube strike did not deter the audience who attended in abundance and there were a few familiar faces in the crowd too. The place was a sell out.

Surfin' Lungs

Wearing their trademark white jeans, surf shirts and converse sneakers, the Surfin' Lungs did a fantastic job at warming the audience up.

They powered through their set, giving us a mix of songs from their recent album and some core favourites from their extensive 30 year back catalogue.

The sound was good, great vocals, twangy guitar, everything you come to expect from this great foursome. The crowd were dancing - just fabulous.


Always a treat to see these guys play live and really pleased they got this gig.

The Rubinoos were one of our early connections when MySpace was all the rage but in all fairness we were not overly familiar with their songs. The merch table put that right as we snapped up a few CDs.

Jon and Al from The Rubinoos

They demonstrated their versatility, opening with all four members grouped together doing an acapella "Mr Sandman" before the powerpop was turned on.
"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" had some of the guys in the audience wishing they were teenagers again.
They did slow things down a little when we were treated to another acapella song - this time a version of The Temptations "My Girl".
As if THAT wasn't enough, a note perfect version of the old Flamingos classic "I Only Have Eyes For You" was just stunning to hear.
"Run Mascara Run" and "Shake Some Action" really rocked too.

Although we sensed a faux reluctance to do it, they did include their version of "I Think We're Alone Now" in their high octane, brilliant set.

What a night to remember. This was the best gig of 2017, even though we are still only in the first couple of weeks of the year- we really don't think another one will top this, for the sheer reaction of the audience, pure pleasure and fun we had and the fact we met up with so many friends.

Hope they come back for more gigs some time soon.

The Beeb meets the Rubinoos

The Beeb with Al