IT is not very often that bigger-name or well known bands cross the Tamar to pay us Cornish folk a visit and the reason is very simple. A perceived lack of large enough venues.

That seems to be changing. Last week, the Cornwall Playhouse, also known as the Hall for Cornwall played host to a NCB Radio favourite in the form of Public Service Broadcasting, who brought their smorgasbord of visual and audio delight this side of the Tamar.

The last time they were in Cornwall, was for a special performance at Goonhilly, performing their widely acclaimed and absolutely terrific ‘Race for Space’ album to a fitting setting as part of the celebration events to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, in 2019.

Almost six years later, J Willgoose Esq, Wrigglesworth, JF Abrahams and Mr B were back, bringing some friends in the form of exceptional Norwegian singer and increasingly frequent collaborator EERA, a dancing brass section and others in tow to the recently renovated Hall for Cornwall and it wasn’t an opportunity we could possibly miss.

This time, rather than marking the 50th anniversary of an event, it was the opening night of the second leg of their tour in support of their excellent album from last year, ‘The Last Flight’, which through the medium of music, reconstructed audio clips and archive recordings, told the tale of the rise and presumed literal fall of Amelia Earhart, the pioneering female aviator.

Starting off proceedings was She Drew the Gun, a peculiar but engaging support act from the Wirral. It is fair to say that it took the band and the audience a couple songs to find the connection with each other, with spoken word verses interluding between their tracks. However, by the end of their 45 minute set, it’s safe to say they definitely found their stride and the audience absolutely loved what they heard. The lead singer reminded us a bit of one of Cornwall’s own in terms of style and vocals, Alex Parks.

After a 45 minute interval, the familiar tones of Sound and Vision by David Bowie accompanied the arrival of the main act to keep us entertained, and boy did they do that over the 105 minute set.

From beginning to end, the familiar tones of their best known tracks and several from their most recent album were accompanied by absolutely tremendous visuals courtesy of Mr B, of a style you’re not likely to see at most other gigs. Much like the band themselves, a Public Service Broadcasting performance is very much an immersive one with the screens in the set behind accompanying the tracks with visuals relevant to their subject and often interspersed by live camera footage of the performance.

Accompanying the band on several of their tracks were a genuine delight in the form of the brass section – who took centre stage and got the crowd into a frenetic frenzy.

J Willgoose Esq himself observed that they didn’t know Cornwall had such a venue – it does, and it’s our own Cornish wonder.