Remember when the charts were hit by ‘21 Seconds’? Back in 2001 the breakneck grime vocals, staccato garage beats and pedantic timekeeping of So Solid’s Number One single were shockingly new. The Crew were a rambunctious 20-strong unit from the council estates of Battersea, who conquered the music industry by playing by none of its rules. They offered up the UK’s first ever platinum-selling urban album – ‘They Don’t Know’ – and helped bring today’s omnipresent grime-pop sounds to the consciousness of the mainstream.
But if the group’s rise was stratospheric it was only matched by their fall. Their legacy has been marred by controversy: Crew lynchpin Megaman is one of many to have served time at Her Majesty’s pleasure; MC Harvey shocked the nation by doing the dirty on one of our sweethearts, Alesha Dixon; and a dead-eyed Romeo donned a pig suit for the good of the ‘Big Brother’ housemates’ shopping budget. All of which offers the opportunity for heart-warming redemption at this reunion show, featuring Mega, Romeo, Lisa Maffia and hopefully a couple more of the Crew too. There's a solid cast of grime- and garage-heads new and old joining the support bill too.