Newport’s notorious rap group GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN have announced their ‘20th Anniversary Tour – 2000-2020’, to take place this and next month.
Coming straight out of Newport the GLC are officially Britain’s biggest rap group. Known for classics like “Guns don’t kill people rappers do”, The GLC started almost by accident around the turn of the century with Eggsy’s impromptu rap about his tracksuit over a serious piece of music Rhys was working on in the studio. Adam Hussain, Billy Webb, Mystkal, the Maggot, 2hats and Mike Balls convinced Rhys to record the rap.
Fuelled by Lambrini, fags, Chicken Tikka Massala and weed they all took to the mic and The GLC’s first album “Don’t Blame the Chain” was born. The group’s journey has so far seen The GLC rise to the top of the charts, perform around the world and at every major festival in the Western Hemisphere and make millions of people laugh along the way.
Now, many years since that first rap about Eggsy’s tracksuit, the group are celebrating two decades in the game across 9 dates, six of them here in South Wales. The tour will be a stellar kick-back to some of the groups most famous tunes, sure to get whoever attends up from their seat and lost in the madness. A chance to see one of the most successful UK rap acts ever should not be missed!
All the dates at the foot of the page.
We put a call in to RHYS to see how the band are doing, and preparing for these live dates. We also chatted about the old stuff, the recent link up with the Welsh Government, and of course how they managed to work during lockdown.
It’s been a long 18 months through the pandemic, filled with safety messages, government announcements and more new rules to follow than we’ve ever known before. But with some people still holding back on getting the vaccine, Newport’s finest have weighed in with a message Mark Drakeford has supported.
GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN have released a single which seems to complete the trilogy of pandemic tunes. The new single, GET THE JAB DONE, comes hot on the heels of their previous tracks Covidiot and The Self Isolation Rap, both of which kept us entertained through months of lockdown.
So first of all, here’s a look at the song…..
As with a lot of GLC videos, the locations are all pretty familiar. The main part was filmed in the centre of Newport at the walk-in vaccination centre (above) near the Kingsway shopping centre. The Welsh Government’s press room is actually the real deal in Cathays Park.
The guys have been fully vaccinated themselves (three times if you listen to the song) by the fantastic NHS team here in Wales. Although millions of us are fully jabbed up, GLC’s message is, we all need to be in this together and step up to get our vaccination, now without the need for an appointment.
We said the First Minister would be right on board with the song, and we weren’t joking, here’s a tweet from the Welsh Government.
Eluned Morgan is the Welsh Government Minister for Health and Social Services, she said recently…..
“We are really grateful to Goldie Lookin’ Chain for helping promote and support vaccine uptake, building on our fantastic programme to date and helping to protect more than two million adults. We’re now inviting 16 and 17-year-olds to get vaccinated before school starts again, in line with the latest advice.”
Listen to the lyrics and you would like to think Jay Z would be on board too – ‘I got 99 problems but a jab ain’t one’.
There is some method behind GLC’s vaccine enthusiasm, the guys are heading out on tour later this year (local dates at the bottom of the page) and they want to make sure we can get there in a safe, covid free environment.
The guys did manage to get in a ‘Greatest Hits Tour’ pre-pandemic, but like the rest of us, have had to wait a long time to get back out on the road to do their day/night job.
I can honestly say, here in the SOUTH WALES LIFE office we are more than a little excited. GLC are back on the road, they haven’t been off our turntables since the announcement. (We’re actually listening on Apple Music but it sounds hipper if we say vinyl).
Now some would tell you that the coolest outfit ever to come out of Newport are a comedy band but that’s wrong. They’re comedic, yes, controversial, most definitely, and explicit – have you listened to….well, everything really. But the music itself, well it’s just mint!!!
GLC have a bunch of albums behind them, 21 at last count but that might have risen in the last hour or two. A stack of chart-topping singles. They supported The Darkness (I Believe In A Thing Called Love) on tour. They performed at the Wales V England World Cup football match at the then Millennium Stadium (rumour has it that David Beckham loved ‘Your Missus Is A Nutter). So GLC are the real deal as far as we’re concerned.
It’s difficult to name all the members because, like Morrison’s at Christmas, they have full and part-time on the GLC books. We’ll give it a crack though. Rhys Hutchings, Graham Bear, Billy Webb, Tom Clugston, John Rutledge, Adam Hussain, Mike Balls, Mystikal, 2Hats. And we must give a mention, at least, to Maggot.
So, get ready for the ultimate party as GLC play a bunch of dates around South Wales. some of these are rescheduled dates too. Tickets at most venues are under £20 and we guarantee they are worth every penny.
GOLDIE LOOK CHAIN DATES
- SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20th – Aberystwyth Arts Centre Tickets
- FRIDAY NOVEMBER 26th – Porthcawl Grand Pavilion Tickets
- SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27th – Sin City, Swansea Tickets
- WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 22nd – Llandudno, Venue Cymru Tickets
- THURSDAY DECEMBER 23rd – Cardiff, Tramshed Tickets
And you can see what the guys are up to right now, here GLC
