Two gigs over the festive season, one of which was arranged at short notice and which I was therefore unable to attend.

31st December 2025, The Cosey Club, Haslington, Cheshire

The Cosey is a community facility with a good-sized function room with bar, stage and dance area, a separate bar area and a members-only games room with a snooker table. I would estimate attendance to be more than 100, many of whom were members and showed up for the club’s annual New Year’s Eve big bash.

Tru80s are no strangers to the venue, this being the fifth showing in the last 18 months. It’s a fine place , and it’s always been busy whenever I’ve been here. By 9.15pm and the start of the first set, there was standing room only.

As always, I was on my own and keeping a low profile (I maintain absolute anonymity and attend all gigs incognito – even the band don’t know what I look like).

I started the evening at the back of the function room to get a feel for the environment and acoustics but mainly to gauge the mood. This was generous with everyone determined to have a good evening, although even by 9.15, opinions where perhaps a little too blurred by alcohol to take literally.

I moved and found myself immersed with a good-natured, middle-aged group chatting about music and how dancing has evolved since the era of the kipper tie and tank top. I did become involved in the debate but had to be somewhat evasive when the group became inquisitive about me.

Most interestingly and somewhat unnervingly, I finished the evening sitting adjacent to the band and its entourage and even spoke with some of them, although of course, no-one recognised me and presumably assumed me to be a moderately inebriated local.

As for the performance, the band played for longer than it had every done – 31 songs in all, spread over 3 sets – 2 before midnight, 1 after. A few previously unperformed songs appeared – Addicted To Love (Rober Palmer) and Life’s What You Make It (Talk Talk) to name two. The dance floor was inhabited all evening and especially during the third set when there was barely room to shake a foot.

An enjoyable evening with more social intreraction than I had expected, but none the worse for it.

2nd January 2026, The Fox & Hounds, Cheswardine

A last-minute booking and a reprise of last year’s birtday party for a local hero and pub regular.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend and therefore cannot comment on the show, but social media posts by the locals demonstrate a good evening was had by all.