Terrorvision originally formed in Bradford in 1987 as The Spoilt Bratz – thankfully they changed their name to Terrorvision in 1991. A few years later they released back-to-back albums Formaldehyde and How to Make Friends and Influence People, leading to their critical and commercial success. The nineties rock legends take to the stage at Rock City...
Miraculously, Terrorvision retained a very stable line up of band members over 35 years. Tony Wright is lead vocalist, with Mark Yates on lead guitar, Leigh Marklew on bass, and Cameron Greenwood on drums who joined the band in 2010 after original drummer Ian Shuttleworth left. Milton Evans who joined the band in 2005 is on keyboards and trumpet. All of the band are wearing something pink this evening, not least Wright who is dressed in a very sharp pink jacket with matching trousers. He’s bouncing around and running on the spot – looking something like Super Hans from Peep Show.
Terrorvision begin the show with Discotheque Wreck. It’s a great warm up song. As the title suggests it has disco and pop sensibilities – the party has begun! If that isn't explosive enough Tequila soon follows and the Rock City audience go absolutely bonkers for it, and rightly so – it’s a mega hit!
Things really kick off as the lads drop the bomb and chug out the opening guitar riff of Alice What’s the Matter? Easily one of Terrorvision’s most well-known and well-loved songs. The crowd, that are becoming increasingly animated by the second, explodes. The crashing drums and pounding bass make Alice something special, and it ends with Wright repeating the strained cries of "Alice What’s the Matter?" as the crowd screams the lines right back at him.
Celebrity Hit List and Bad Actress are really well received and the band race through ‘Pretend Best Friend’, with its quick-fire lyrics, with pace and power, complete with haunting trumpet in the middle eight. Deeper cuts from Formaldehyde peppered throughout the set include New Policy One, American TV, Jason, Problem Solved, Don't Shoot My Dog, and My House.
As the main set nears its conclusion they play Oblivion and the crowd erupts once again! Joesphine - a song about a guy called Joe who transitions to become Josephine - follows. A song very much before its time, in the late 90s it may have been considered something of a humorous track (although I believe that it was written with sincerity), but fast forward 25 years and its positive message has become more meaningful over time. It’s very positively and warmly received by the Rock City faithful who sing along. D’Ya Wanna Go Faster completes the main set and is also met enthusiastically by the crowd who do indeed wanna to go faster!
There is a short encore break before Terrorvision return to the stage to perform a final double shot of This Drinking Will Kill Me and Perseverance.
It’s a pity that Terrorvision haven’t written any new material since they released Super Delux in 2011 from which not a single song makes the cut to appear on tonight’s set list. Having not released new music in such a long time makes them feel a little like a band that’s content to coast by on old songs, but honestly when they’ve got a set list crammed with so many great tracks which they play with such passion and conviction, does it really matter? The Rock City crowd doesn’t think so and everyone leaves the Talbot Street venue with a smile on their face, talking about whales and dolphins as they go. The boys from Bradford have absolutely smashed it tonight.
Terrorvision performed at Rock City on 2 November 2023
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
