The Last Train Home
PopDeco at The Scala 23/10/26
I was looking forward to this show. I hadn't heard of Deco before but a quick instagram search indicated they were a nostalgic 80s synth pop band and looked like a lot of fun
The timing for me was perfect as it was a Friday and I was coming straight from the first day of Comic Con at Excel, a great way to end an already packed day of colour, music and entertainment with more colour, music and entertainment..
I arrived early to catch the opening acts and grab a pint from the bar. The stage looked like a theatre set with clouds hanging from the ceiling, a small table with a record player, a reading chair and an old telephone and decor as if we'd just been teleported to the 1960s. I was kept busy singing along to Chappell Roans Hot To Go that was blasting through the venue speakers before the opening acts began, first came Berenice and then Tom Speight with an early start of 19.15 the venue hadn't quite packed out yet. Not to deter the musicians confidence they used it to their advantage and managed to effectively create an intimate atmosphere as if you were suddenly in a divey pub. The Scala has an 800 people capacity and have hosted bands such as the Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth, so this seemed like quite a challenge and definitely didn't go unnoticed. They encouraged the audience to use their phone torches as lights swaying in the sky to slow songs, microphones were ditched allowing vocals to carry through the room alone and performances were on the dance floor, they all made great touches to the evening and an ideal warm up for the rest of the night.
The venue became pretty packed by the time Deco came on stage and the crowd was now ready to go. They entered the stage to Our House by Madness as an intro which made a great sing a long, the audience were into it and I was lucky enough to be standing in front of their saxophonist Lucy Kendall, who I was a little bit in awe of. The burst of sounds from the sax throughout the night gave more punch to the music and complimented the synthesisers well. The band were wearing matching white denim fits, black Dr Martens and an embroidered patch on their chests that read Dreamhouse, the title of their new album that was released that week. The crowd were excited and already engaged thanks to the opening acts with lots of singing, dancing, picture taking and stage banter from the band. They sang from their new record You're So Beautiful with a mention of Ed Nash of Bombay Bicycle club who helped with the production, fun fact. They also sang Drivers Seat and I Love That Song from their first record. If I closed my eyes I could have been convinced I was in the room with George Michael, vocalist Max Kendall shared similar dictation and singing, he also had some great dance moves and I would love to hear Deco do a synth pop cover of Last Christmas by Wham however I will settle for their cover of Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve instead which was pretty catchy. There were phone calls during the set from that old school telephone I mentioned, one of which was from Dawn French requesting the song Rain which they finished for their final encore.
I have many fond memories going to the Scala to see bands and alt nights such as Facedown so this venue to me is familiar. The venue is an old cinema converted into a night club and boasts Lou Reed and Iggy and the Stooges first U.K show was played there in 1972, keep an eye out for the blue plaque. They have a bar and merch area, spiral staircases and multiple floors that are open for their club nights. There's a multitude of restaurants, bars and hotels in the surrounding area not to mention about a 10 minute walk to St Pancreas Station to catch your last train home.