American rockers Wheatus rocked Tarbert last week as they brought their UK tour to the north Kintyre village.
The sold-out show on Tuesday September 26 brought together locals and visitors from around Scotland for what turned out to be a huge sing-along in the village hall.
The band, whose debut album alone sold more than five million copies worldwide, are on a 40-date tour of the UK and Ireland and are always looking for new and unique places to play.
Frontman Brendan Brown explained to the crowd: “When we come over from the US, we don’t want to just come over for, like, nine dates, so we always ask for our booking agents to find smaller towns and venues for us to play.
“We were excited when West Kintyre Promotions got in touch and we have had an amazing time.
“We spent our day off in Tarbert on Monday, visited the castle and met lots of locals. I even had some Cullen skink, which, until now, I didn’t know was a thing!
“We would love to come back again if you will have us!”
The band operates a “no setlist” policy, instead asking the audience to call out their favourite Wheatus songs.
This led to a hits-laden night featuring some of the band’s biggest tracks including Leroy, The London Sun, BMX Bandits, Lemonade, Truffles and their biggest hits to date, A Little Respect and the smash hit Teenage Dirtbag.
Towards the end of the evening, the band brought support act American rapper and web designer MC Frontalot on stage to join them for a couple of songs, including Teenage Dirtbag.
And, at one point in the show, bassist Matthew Milligan even ended up playing from the front row of the crowd!
A spokesperson for West Kintyre Promotions said: “We first made contact with Matt from the band before the Covid pandemic about them coming to Tarbert, as we have caught the band live a few times over the years and knew how fun a Wheatus show is.
“Unfortunately, Covid stopped everything in its tracks, but when the band were making plans for this tour, we got back in touch and were delighted that they accepted.
“I think it is fair to say that everyone had a great time, even if it was a Tuesday night, and the crowd were so loud singing all the words back to the band! It would appear Tarbert has more than a few ‘teenage dirtbags’!”
