Review by Steve Bennett

Now old enough to know better, this trio of former rock journalists threaten to blow the lid on their times alongside some of the biggest names in music.

But this is no expose of backstage debauchery, but a witty and self-deprecating confession about the lazy, sloppy and opinionated world of a freeloading NME reporter in the late Eighties.

In these cynical times, though, few revelations come as a real surprise, even the fabricated reviews of gigs they didn't attend - including Stuart Maconine praising Grace Slick's performance with Jefferson Starship at the notorious 1989 Reading Festival, even though she had left the band more than two years earlier.

Such true-life anecdotes are the most fascinating, and always entertainingly delivered. The show falters, though, when they rely more on their own invention - for example the explanation of the NME's star system for album reviews - and such routines are often little more than weak excuses for poor gags.

The trio treat their subject with the disrespect it deserves, and even revel in their own limitations as performers, fluffing lines and omitting crucial segments - but always in an endearing way.

This doesn't pretend to be anything other than it is - a triumvirate of eloquent media pundits recounting witty tales from their past. It won't rock the world, but it's a pleasant enough diversion - and must for rock fans and self-important critics everywhere.

Review date: 1 Jan 2001
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett