‘Britain’s old and rather thin,” are the first words out of the mouth of Craig Reid at St George’s Hall as the Proclaimers perform the title track from their latest record, Dentures Out. From an album they describe as their most political in years, the track – propelled by a breezy and melodic guitar line – explores notions of a fading and deluded country. “The theme of the album is people dreaming of an England that is gone or perhaps never existed,” they said recently.
Despite its never-more-relevant backdrop of a Britain in “terminal decline”, the new album is represented minimally tonight. Its fairly light touch and broad anti-rightwing politics are largely outweighed by crowdpleasing favourites, be it about ageing sexual decline on Over and Done With or an ode to love on Let’s Get Married. On the latter, the pair manage to take what feels like an intimate arms-around-one-another pub singalong and amplify it into every corner of the room, delivered punchily by a band who spend the evening swinging between classic rock, country, folk and pop.
