The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free – The Corn Exchange, Edinburgh (Gig Review)

A Grand Don’t Come for Free, the concept album from The Streets, might have held a special place in many people’s hearts, but it has never been performed live in-full, until now.

In the wrong hands, a single narrative running through a collection of songs can become either a horrific disaster or a cheesy gimmick. Thankfully, Mike Skinner is in no way the wrong hands – in its genesis, he immersed himself in screenplays to work out a way to effectively tell his tale.

On its initial release, it felt like one of the greatest cultural representations of this country . Though it deserved to be on the big screen, it couldn’t be bothered getting off the comfy sofa.

There was clearly demand for the run of sell-out shows, and at The Corn Exchange in Edinburgh it seemed as though everyone had turned up. Quilted-jacket couples braving a school night, lads who hadn’t matured but were holding each other up, and the Young Team who weren’t even in existence when Skinner gave birth to his masterpiece.

Many might have wondered how this could work as a concert, but they needn’t have worried. It wasn’t a gig. It was a play. 

The bus shelter from the iconic album cover might have centre stage but it was Skinner who commanded our attention. He prowled and sauntered, backed by a cracking live band. It was as if William Shakespeare had scripted an episode of Shameless. 

For those unfamiliar, the story follows a hapless protagonist who appears to lose everything from his cash to his girl. At first, the typically tepid Capital crowd was hard to read. Would the older fans head off once they’d heard favourites like ‘Fit But You Know It’ or ‘Dry Your Eyes’? Could it hold the attention of kids raised on a diet of TikTok?

Yet as soon as ‘Empty Cans’ reached its conclusion, the venue erupted together in applause and adulation. 

An encore of greatest hits followed, but that was merely the Jelly Tot on the Empire Biscuit. A Grand was the main event. It may have taken years for it to make its live debut, but like finally seeing the last bus arrive after an eventful night out, it was well worth the wait.