Gossip

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s impossible to not be familiar with the dance rock trio known as Gossip. Fronted by the incredible feminist advocate Beth Ditto, her amazing gospel vocals have been likened to that of Etta James and Janis Joplin. Gossip are anything but ordinary. Their breakthrough single “Standing in The Way of Control” stormed into the charts in 2006 with its punk enthused dance sensibilities, quickly becoming a firm favourite for any summer playlist.
Even if you aren’t into dancing, Gossip will change all that. Opening sets with the hit “Love Long Distance” Ditto enters the stage full of charisma often wearing striking outfits highlighting her curvaceous figure. The strength of her vocals penetrate through crowd as they jump to the electronic beats and clap along whilst she struts across the stage dancing accompanied by a barrage of flashing disco lights. It’s not long before Ditto kicks off her shoes and we know she means business undeterred by adverse weather conditions she’ll often embrace the rain. She’s a great frontwoman admirable to say the least, she owns the stage full of life and energy as she roams into the crowd, making it a point to shake everyone on the barrier’s hand and still maintaining composure as she continues singing perfectly. Tracks like “Get A Job” and “Eyes Open” whip the crowd into a frenzy as they jump onto each other’s shoulders and crowdsurf across a sea of hands. Engaging with the audience at any given chance is an important characteristic of any Gossip show. Ending the show with anthemic hits “Heavy Cross” and “Standing In The Way Of Control” go down a treat, clearly crowd favourites.
Gossip are an incredible live band, where performance is just as much style as it is substance. The playful nature of Beth Ditto coupled with her outstanding vocal capacity make for an unforgettable experience.

Beth Ditto was born to be a star; feminist icon, fashion muse, never short of an opinion…it’s actually rather easy to forget the reason we first got to know her was because of her astonishing voice. That’s why Gossip came to prominence, and that’s what really makes Ditto stand out from the crowd. The best way to experience Gossip is to see them live; backed by drummer Hannah Blilie and guitarist Brace Paine, Ditto’s band is an explosive mix of post-punk, gospel and dance rock and she is the undoubted focus. A confident stage presence, Ditto bawls her way through the Gossip’s back catalogue like a woman possessed, like her life depends on singing these songs to us. Sure the ubiquitous ‘Standing In the Way of Control’ is the one that everyone is here to see (and when it’s delivered the place goes bananas) but that doesn’t mean there’s not many more gems to hear over the evening. ‘No, No, No’ from the Movement album is even more defiant than it is on record and ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ is a rallying cry to anyone who’s thought about giving in.
Everything always comes back to Ditto, though; she’s engaging, funny and passionate and puts everything into each show like it could be her last. That’s what makes them such a vital live act: passion for music.