Rail Freight Rock Hits The Water Rats

Two of GB Railfreight’s directors, Carl Kent and Liam Day, had an idea that might have seemed daft after a couple of pints but ended up being something quite brilliant. Put a band together. Not just any band – a one-off charity gig to raise money for our fundraising partners at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

With the help of Eimer Shannon a venue was booked, messages were fired out across the GBRf network (“Can you play an instrument? Fancy standing on stage rather than standing by a loco?”), and slowly but surely volunteers stuck their hands up. Out of a scattergun WhatsApp campaign and a couple of brave emails, a band with no name was born.

The Venue

The chosen stage? The Water Rats, King’s Cross. A place dripping with music history. Bob Dylan played his first UK gig there in 1962. Oasis made their London debut there. The Pogues, The Decemberists, even Katy Perry all graced its tiny stage on the way to bigger things. Walk into the bar and you can practically smell the sweat of ghosts past – a proper gig venue, not just a pub with a PA. No pressure then, lads.

Meet the Band

Liam Day – Lead vocals
Carl Kent – Lead guitar
Vittorio Licata – Keyboards
Chris Duffield – Bass, guitar, vocals
Andy Rutherford – Guitar
Will Lane – Drums (Set 1)
Dean Godwin – Drums (Set 2)
Ewan Duffy – Drums (Set 3)

And the back-room crew who actually made it all happen: Eimer Shannon, Claire Hearley, Sam Batey, Joanne Marshall and a few others whose names I’ve temporarily mislaid (sorry, message me and I’ll fix it). My own role? Let’s just say makeshift roadie and interval DJ pressing buttons on a laptop. Hardly Hendrix.

The Build-Up

We all gathered mid-afternoon, nerves jangling. The sound engineer was running on rock ’n’ roll time – about 70 minutes late – which did absolutely nothing for Carl’s blood pressure. Eventually gear was lugged in, wires taped down, and sound checks done. My big debut arrived: pressing play on Carl’s carefully curated pre-gig playlist. Smashed it.

Set 1 – Britpop Beginnings

Just after 7pm the unmistakable riff of Ocean Colour Scene’s “The Riverboat Song” — forever “the TFI Friday song” for anyone of a certain vintage — rang out. For the next 50 minutes, the crowd were treated to Britpop nostalgia and classic rock swagger. Oasis, Supergrass, The Verve, The Stones, The Beatles, The Who… banger after banger. Not bad for a bunch of rail workers moonlighting as rockers.

Button pressed again. My job done. Interval playlist rolling.

Set 2 – Dean on the Drums

Drummers swapped, the energy stayed high. This set leaned heavier – The Cult, Sabbath, T. Rex, The Clash, The Smiths, U2, Primal Scream, Stone Roses. Chris took vocal duties for the first four before Liam returned to the mic. “Love Spreads” closed it out and the 150-strong crowd lapped it up. Did I mention they’d only had three practice sessions together? You’d never have guessed.

And yes, my moment came again – this time with my own Britpop Megamix. I was quietly proud to see actual dancing break out. Apologies to Carl though… I may have sneaked in a couple of tracks that clashed with the band’s setlist.

Set 3 – Ewan’s Turn

By now the place was bouncing. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Zutons, White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Pulp, Blur, Oasis. A jukebox of indie anthems. Sadly, I had to peel off after “Seven Nation Army” to wrestle the streets of London and find my way back to Liverpool Street before the last train. My sense of direction is bad enough without throwing in tube strikes and the ever-present threat of rain into the mix. I wasn’t risking a night on the station concourse under the big clock; folks would have moaned at me if I was late with my wagon spreadsheet Friday morning!

Verdict

Absolutely superb. Eight blokes who didn’t really know each other six months ago, three practice sessions under their belt, and they pulled off a gig that most established pub bands would kill for. The GB Railfreight/customers/competitors crowd loved it, the charity pot grew nicely, and with the queues at the bar I’d guess a few people were definitely late into work the next morning.

Will there be more? Not for me to say. But if there is – I’ll be there again, laptop at the ready, finger poised on the play button.

Some Might Say

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Paranoid