Back in 1994, before mobile phones, flatscreens or the PS2, teenage man-boys had to make their own entertainment. For the 4 members of legendary funk/pop noise-terrorists GEL, that involved stripping to the waist and pounding their instruments like Bonobo chimps.

Fortunately, there were a lot of other chimps out there who seemed to enjoy that sort of thing, and before long Gel were playing (often in their underwear) to packed-out crowds all over London and the South West. Their demo tape Another Fine Day (yes, an actual TAPE) sold hundreds of copies. They even got on the Radio. It was a glorious, salty, snotty, and very confusing time. What went wrong? Higher education. Once again, University ruined 4 young people’s career prospects. Tsk.

Flash forward 16 years and the Gel line-up now boasts a plumbing guru, a near-senile local business legend, a forensic investigator (CSI Cardiff) and a former nanny. Barring pending paternity suits, they have fathered 5 children that we can be absolutely sure of. In short, they have grown up. Sort of.

But the years have not been unkind to Gel, and the hedonistic, egocentric, tone-deaf spark that first brought them together is still very much alive. So every few years they dust off their kit, massage their knuckles and prepare to utter those immortal lines once more:

“One two…
buckle my shoe…
poo poo… you…”