Gig review: Skunk Anansie at Rock City

As I travel to the gig, I’m excited at the prospect of seeing Skunk Anansie again. I first saw them at the Heineken Festival in Leeds 1995. I had never seen anything quite like them. I was blown away by the sheer power of the driving guitar riffs but what particularly sticks in my mind is frontwoman Skin. She had such a presence on the stage and I can remember gazing up at her mad demonic eyes and feeling, well, If I’m being honest, just a little bit scared.

Three decades have rolled by since then, and Skunk Anansie have enjoyed great success with three studio albums and various awards from the likes of MTV and Kerrang before splitting up in 2001. They reformed in 2009 and released a further three albums, and will be issuing another in May 2025. I have seen many bands in recent whose heyday was decades ago and there is often a common trend. Musically, the band have got better. The musicians in the band have had more time to learn their craft and are just better musicians as a result. The same is not always true for the singers, however, as the singing voice generally does not improve with age and lead singers sometimes lack the energy and stage presence that they once enjoyed when they were younger.

Would this trend by the same for Skunk Anansie?

Before I find out the answer, there is the support band to enjoy - So Good. They're not a band I'm familiar with, and my curiosity increases as they take to the stage. Now this is interesting. Three men dressed in pink onesies with bright pink Pussy Riot style balaclavas are playing drums, bass and guitar. Two backing vocalists appear with high pony tails dressed in what looks like American high school cheerleader outfits, apart from the fact their clothes are all black and the word F****R is emblazoned across their chests. Finally, the lead singer joins the band in a bright red beret, knee socks and leather jacket... and we're off.

The music is heavy on the guitar and has a strong punk element to it. The vocals are more rap than singing and the addition of the backing singers has an almost early Beastie Boys feel to it at times but the songs still feel contemporary. The themes are very political with the band encouraging the crowd to give a middle finger to the fascist Donald Trump early on in the set. They may be protest songs at heart, and the themes cover issues such as religion and toxic masculinity, but there's humour, too.

It's also a lively performance and it’s really well received by the Rock City crowd which is nearing capacity as their set comes to an end. I really enjoyed their last song I Rewrote the F*****g Bible which again highlighted their talent for songs that are provocative in nature but with an abundance of wit and humour, too. 

Frontwoman Sophie Bokor-Ingram once described herself as the female Johnny Rotten. I think she might be right.

Rock City is now full to capacity as the lights are dimmed and New Rose by The Damned comes over the speakers. Skunk Anansie take to the stage to huge applause and go straight into This Means War swiftly followed by Charlie Big Potato and Because Of You.

Any doubt in my mind about Skin's vocal ability, energy, stage presence or demonic stare are firmly put to bed in the first three songs. The set continues with a mix of old, new and brand new and I think they got the balance about right.

I was struck at the sheer vocal range Skin still possesses, and the talent it must take to create such a variety of songs the band have recorded over the years. Some are loud, edgy, fast and angry and yet the same people have also created gentle, beautiful, whisper-quiet songs, too. There is no doubt that crowd-pleasers come from the band's earlier back catalogue with I Can Dream and Yes it’s F*****g Political really getting the crowd going. 

There was no lack of energy from any of the band and Skin was in full-on performance mode, leaving the stage more than once to join the crowd.  It may be 30 years later but Skunk Anansie are still a force to be reckoned with and show no signs of slowing. 

The final song of the night was Little Baby Swastika and the crowd went nuts. I managed to fight my way to the front of the crowd to where Skin was standing. I looked up to catch her eye and there it was, the demonic stare. It was still there, and I felt it just the same. 30 years may have passed, but Skunk Anansie and Skin are still very much at the top of their game.

Skunk Anansie performed at Rock City on 3rd April 2025. New album The Painful Truth is due to be released on 23rd May.