“We gotta forget the fact that it’s quarter past ten,” announce Babyhead early in their set. “There is only one moment.” For Babyhead that moment is now. It’s only mid-morning but the band, resplendent in top hats and tails, is clearly well up for it. So is the impressively large crowd.
Hundreds take to their feet moments after the opening reggae/ska fused number begins. If you are a Bristol-based music lover you will have found it hard to avoid Babyhead, for everyone else the band produce an infectious blend of the aforementioned ska and reggae, with hip-hop delivery, scratching and sampling which would be in serious danger of sounding cacophonous in the hands of less skilled performers.
Despite the early hour and the oppressive heat it is Babyhead’s boundless, good humoured enthusiasm which sucks you in. As we gleefully bop to tunes like Rubber Neck the band beam out at us as if it is all their birthdays. From a distance one of the front men even looks like Lee Evans. Mercifully there is no mime interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody, we’ll assume it’s not him.
“They deserve better than 10.15 in the morning,” complained one devotee. They certainly do, not that Babyhead seem to mind. See you at Ashton Court?