“This IS SKAAAAA!” bellowed Buster Bloodvessel from the stage as everyone went ballistic.

Buster’s disciples were out for their annual Christmas knees-up and no one was disappointed. There were no surprises, new mixes or songs from a new album to dilute this 1980s retrospective. It was all classic Ska anthems delivered with Buster’s unbelievable energy.

The larger-than-life singer delivered a 75-minute set and the audience (who all looked like his original Rude Boy fans) had a great time – the only “kids” in the room were the band, who looked the part but were obviously two decades younger than the rest of us.

The band played three sets, backing Rude Girls (three ska girls doing covers) and Max Splodge of Splodgenessabounds fame, who opened the evening mixing up his own hits like Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps with Tenpole Tudor’s Swords Of A Thousand Men.

But it was when the whole audience lurched into the Can-Can with Buster that we knew Christmas had really started.

Anne-Marie Krolick