A Band Called Quinn - The Beggar’s Opera

(Tromolo)

Theatre and pop music can often make embarrassingly naff bedfellows, but when Louise Quinn and co appeared onstage in Vanishing Point’s audacious sci-fi reimagining of John Gay’s 18th century satire, their live score was vital to the action. Decontextualised from performance, this studio interpretation remains a moodily melodramatic series of 80s electro-tinged mucky stories from some leather-clad underworld.

From the Morricone-styled gallop of ‘Here’s To Us’ and the breathy jukebox croon of ‘We Are The Scum,’ a triumphal up yours attitude prevails, while ‘The Fuse’ morphs a spoken-word centerpiece reminiscent of Tom Robinson’s ‘Power in the Darkness’ with the motorik disco of Katy Perry’s ‘Hot and Cold’. Take that poshos!