It's the end of a dream year for young Mike Skinner and his band. The Streets are scoring high in all end of year polls and their album Original Pirate Material is hotly tipped to be voted best album right across the musical spectrum. It's strange to think that without one incident none of this would probably have happened, The Streets fever spawned from a single a-cappella on a Stanton Warriors mix tape. This was the track Has it come to this? Stanton Warriors were actually the band tipped by the industry to take over but like a sucker fish on a shark it was the Streets who were to prevail. Urban realism - stories of Play-stations, Boy racers, SR Nova's and Geezers - Skinner really does tell it like it is: A needed dose of urban realism with a heart (and a sense of humour) without resorting to Yanky slangs or "Blingy" boasts, all the characters, emotions and tales come to life when delivered in the poetic rant over UK Garage-Reggae-Hip-hop type licks a kind of, Special AKA for the So-Solid generation. These few dates are (to my knowledge) The Streets first real tour. Following a couple of very successful outing during the festival season (Leeds/Reading) "they knew all the words" gushed Skinner) and an interesting but not amazing appearance on Jools Holland recently. | |