A Thursday night in Cardiff can be an odd one. Student night lands on a Wednesday and it’s not quite Friday, so most of the bars are peaking with the odd after-work pint. The only real noise is coming from a resilient acoustic guitarist playing Mrs Robinson to a barren Vodka Revs. Until you swing into Womanby Street, that is.
On the city’s designated music patch, beers are being poured pronto as anticipation builds for a set by Getdown Services, a band who are a confounding, thrilling proposition. Rambling chatter rings through the room as stage time nears and, by eavesdropping on a couple of conversations, everyone seems to have heard of them through a mate. That’s normally a good sign.
Swaggering onto the stage to the sounds of Status Quo’s Whatever You Want, Josh Law and Ben Sadler immediately stand out. A packet of Walkers is flung into the audience and it’s a bizarre thing of beauty as people scramble to claim it as if it were blessed by Gary Lineker himself. One Direction never caused such a frenzy over a packet of Cheese and Onion, that’s for certain.
At a time when things feel very big, very heavy, Getdown Services swim against the current with slapstick songs about food, pretentious fashion, their disdain for Jamie Oliver and their admiration of Caesar from Planet of The Apes. But that’s not to say their stuff is flippant or disingenuous.
Their music — a talky, drum-machine addled collision between indie-pop and post-punk — is familiar but also completely different. They prefer to create a party atmosphere first, with bizarre lyrical concepts and a taste for the ridiculous setting them apart from other double acts such as Sleaford Mods, Confidence Man, Big Special or Ant and Dec. No one stays still. Whether they’re dancing, cheering, or chugging pints, it’s an hour of euphoria. “We’re from Minehead — it has a Butlin’s!” Ben and Josh cheer, and it’s actually a bit like being at Butlin’s.
Throughout their set you notice the occasional coy smile break over their faces as the crowd belt their choruses back to them, and there are other instances where they exchange glances that suggest disbelief at the fact they get to travel the country having a laugh every single night. Having recently put out their ‘Primordial Slot Machine’ EP, they have a number of festival appearances in the diary, following up Glastonbury with sets at Victorious Festival, plus Manchester and Edinburgh Psych Fest, before an autumn UK and Ireland tour and a couple of hometown Bristol shows to kick off 2025. It’s not about to stop any time soon.
The highlight of the evening comes very early on. At the front of the crowd, someone demands the microphone. Unsure of the repercussions, but trusting in the chaos, Ben and Josh oblige and hand it over. They burst into a rendition of the Welsh national anthem and everyone else joins in. Ben and Josh stand in disbelief at the impromptu rendition — it’s just one of those mad things that keep happening to them.
The beauty of Getdown Services is very simple. Their shows are sold out, or very close to selling out, with a European tour and even a visit to the US also in the diary. This is what a grassroots success story looks like — the kind that was supposed to be dying out, forced into nothingness by our collective subservience to streaming and dynamic pricing. Find out the old way what the fuss is all about. You won’t regret it.
Getdown Services Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri October 17 2025 - HALIFAX Albany Arcade
Mon November 10 2025 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
Tue November 11 2025 - LIVERPOOL Arts Club, The Loft
Wed November 12 2025 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Thu November 13 2025 - STOCKTON Georgian Theatre
Fri November 14 2025 - GLASGOW Classic Grand
Sat November 15 2025 - EDINBURGH Mash House
Mon November 17 2025 - INVERNESS Tooth & Claw
Tue November 18 2025 - ABERDEEN Tunnels
Wed November 19 2025 - DUNDEE Beat Generator Live
Thu November 20 2025 - SUNDERLAND Pop Recs
Fri November 21 2025 - HEBDEN BRIDGE Trades Club
Sat November 22 2025 - COVENTRY Tin Music and Arts
Mon November 24 2025 - BELFAST Ulster Sports Club
Tue November 25 2025 - GALWAY Roisin Dubh
Wed November 26 2025 - DUBLIN Button Factory
Fri January 09 2026 - BRISTOL Trinity Centre
Sat January 10 2026 - BRISTOL Trinity Centre
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