Staring at the Rude Boys
Last time we saw Lethal Bizzle he was busy dodging Muller rice pots and anything else that the Download crowd could lay their hands on and throw in the direction of the stage! To his credit he won them over that day but judging from the size of the crowd assembled in the NME tent he will have no such trouble today.
There is a section of the crowd chanting his name before he comes on and when he does duly arrive he’s greeted by a huge cheer. It has to be said that the crowd are amazing right from the start, they make arguably the biggest noise of the day and take every opportunity to bounce as if it were their last. As usual Bizzle is joined on stage by his co vocalist (who’s name I can’t find anywhere), who’s main purpose in life seems to be reciting ‘Bizzle Bizzle’ at regular intervals.
When he gets going and gets a real rhythm flowing he’s pretty good but at other times it all just seems a bit of a mess. The crowd love it however but it’s probably a bit disappointing for Bizzle that the biggest cheers of the day are reserved for the cover versions he does, particularly the Clash’s ‘Police On My Back’. He goes down a storm, the new songs being met with equal fervour and the difference between here and Download can’t be overstated, this is his crowd and for half an hour or so today he owns the stage.