If you grew up listening to 70s disco (as I did), then the Huggy Flares will take you back to those wonderful times. Superb gig, great audience and a good atmosphere all contributed to a great night.

GaryB

What a Brilliant night x

Martina Conway

Ahh thanks x Tom it was a fantastic day & night the push were fab as always great to have u back c ya in October x

Kayleigh Kavanagh

I wonder how many drinkers at this mainly Irish pub realised they were watching a member of one of Britain's top rockabilly bands when the Ploughmen set up farm at their venue.

Lead vocalist and guitarist with the Ploughmen is Gordon Scott, who was and still is a member of Matchbox, whose battery of hits included "Rockabilly Rebel", "Midnite Dynamos" and "When You Ask About Love".

He was in fine voice at the Peacock as were the other five members of this laid-back outfit who give the impression they are having a great time performing.

Fittingly enough for an Irish pub, the band kicked off with "Dirty Old Town" and "The Wild Rover", both of which were well received and encouraged one punter to request Irish tunes all night.

But the Ploughmen had other plans and the variety of their material was impressive. "Bad Moon Rising" featured an imaginative sax break while the Cliff Richard smash "Move It" came complete with snatches of "Hit And Miss" (the Juke Box Jury theme) and "Let's Dance".

The Ploughmen like to surprise and I was stunned to hear them perform "Mr Bass Man" (a 1961 hit for Johnny Cymbal) as no other pub group I've heard has ever attempted it before.

"The Green Green Grass Of Home" was given a totally different treatment from the norm; and Lonnie Donegan's "My Old Man's A Dustman" came complete with jokes. And that was just the first set.

Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" started set two and it was followed by material as diverse as the Bay City Rollers' "Shang A Lang", the classic "Fly Me To The Moon" (beautifully performed by Gordon) and Madness' "One Step Beyond", with some "Hava Nagila" thrown in for good measure.

The Ploughmen were in top form and in their final set they showed their fabulous harmony work on Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me".

Other highlights included their own jazzy arrangement of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie"; the Bonzo Dog's fun song "I'm The Urban Spaceman"; a lively version of the skiffle smash "Puttin' On The Style" and a gentler performance of "Rockabilly Rebel", with Gordon doing the vocal honours.

Phil shared vocal duties with Gordon and provided some terrific banjo playing; Barry, of Moose on the Loose fame, played great guitar riffs all night; Keith's sax playing was a joy to hear; and PJ (double bass) and Trevor (drums) were the solid rhythm section.

The evening ended with the rather predictable rocker "Johnny B Goode" but the Ploughmen had shown their superb versatility all night. If they come to a pub (or farm) near you, don't miss them.

Colin Fenn, DJ, journalist

This gig was a very enjoyable 2 hours with a very wide ranging set list. The band started off with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and visited many different areas of rock and jazz ranging from Johnny Be Good to Hotel California and Smoke on the Water.

The sound quality and stage set up was very impressive and the musicality of the band was extremely tight. The drum and bass jam half way through the set was really good and the singer held the audience well while multitasking with keyboard, control of the lights set up and percussion from time to time. The guitarist, Paolo was fantastic and received much applause from the audience for his characteristic solos and style.

The gig consisted mostly of covers of classic rock songs, but the original songs which were played were also enjoyable and memorable!

Overall, a very good night, and I'd definitely hope to see the band again around the St. Albans area!

Alex Woodford