Appearances by nationally renowned bands this side of the Tamar are few and far between, it seems, so need to be properly celebrated and savoured… hence my ride over to Falmouth last weekend to catch acclaimed soul collective Stone Foundation.

My previous visit to the Cornish Bank was for the town’s International Sea Shanty Festival, a different vibe but similarly joyous, a cracking venue on the main drag this time swapping maritime-themed deepwater festival folk for Midlands-bred deep soul and revival funk, the visitors supplying the sunshine vibes on a damp midsummer night.

Stone Foundation’s most recent long player, The Revival of Survival, has proved essential summer listening for this scribe in 2025, and while there was no appearance at Falmouth from Style Council co-founder Mick Talbot, a more recent addition to the ranks, we were in no way short-changed, keyboard player Ian Arnold proving more than capable of filling the gaps in that luscious sound. Besides, there are only so many band members you can fit on that stage. And while this A30 run proved too far out for their esteemed bandmate, Merton Mick will be on hand at Cardiff Castle on 20^th and 21^st August when they support Tom Jones, clearly still up for the big ’uns, 40 years beyond Live Aid. This was my third SF live outing since 2019, first catching them at Gorilla in Manchester, then two years later at the Boileroom, Guildford.

And I reckon this might even have been the best yet, the sound quality and choice of set making for a special night, a septet version of the band neatly set up by a soulful session from the Easylife Sound Association, taking to the stage while the DJ played atmospheric LP opener ‘How Many Times?’, the faders eased down as the band took over and swiftly got into the groove, moving on from there to the positive energy of title track – by way of a killer bassline – ‘The Revival of Survival’ then ‘Everything & All I Want’, seamlessly shifting up the gears, lighting up the West in this case.

And what presence, as Edwyn Collins would put it, a three-piece brass section – on paper, hamstrung by the absence of Dave Boraston – on form throughout, deputising debutante Patsy Gamble (perhaps it should be ‘pasty gamble’ in honour of the Duchy setting) putting down her mark, following the lead of horn arranger/ all-round dependable Steve Trigg (trumpet) and rapidly in step with fellow sax player, Anthony Gaylard, who was out of my eyeline behind the speakers but made himself known from those first blasted notes.

I do love a good brass section, fellow Midlands wonders Dexys’ first LP and (past SF collaborator) Graham Parker’s The Rumour brought to mind, with a little of the joyous energy of Earth, Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder’s horn sections thrown in the mix for good measure.  

While the new LP formed the bulk of the set, there were selections from the previous four platters (all recorded at Paul Weller’s studio), starting with the upbeat, Andre Laville-less ‘The Light In Us’ from 2020’s Is Love Enough? And while the band were somewhat reliant on frontman/guitarist Neil Jones on the vocal front, he put in a great shift, band and audience alike floating on air for a Weller-free ‘Deeper Love’ and, later, clubland floor-filler ‘Reach Out’ (another delivered by Laville on record), keyboard wiz Arnie adding some lovely Ray Manzarek-like flourishes, the band building to a climax that was more Chicago House than Cornish Bank.

The laidback pop soul of ‘Fix You Up’ and ‘The Beat I Know’ from the new record also impressed live, Dominic Carr expertly taking on Phil Ford’s role on drums, the band totally in step, even if we didn’t have time to get our roller skates on, Jonesy remarking – looking in the direction of the balcony, where a fair few of us were hanging over – how he felt like he was playing on a galleon. In fact, his bass-playing co-conspirator, Neil Sheasby, felt it was more a mix of The Good Old Days and an audience in the Czech Republic. And while I’ve not been part of any such congregation, I kind of got where they were both coming from.

Wherever Stone Foundation play, the Style Council-like ode to joy that is ‘The Limit of a Man’ is always a highlight, with this night no exception, nine years after that song was first committed to vinyl on the Street Rituals album, the first SF LP to win me over… by which time they’d already put in a 17-year shift. And more than a quarter-century into their sonic journey, they continue to attract new followers… with good reason, new tracks like soulful dreamer ‘Close to Where You Are’ and the funkier ‘Cut Me Loose’ (Jonesy claiming JP Bimeni’s lead vocal here) proving they’re still capable of wearing grooves into dancefloors, the brass section working up a Pigbag-type sweat on the latter.

I reckon that would work as a theme for some retro 70s US cop show, and similarly, 2022’s ‘Stylin’ saw us back on that soul train, more Hill Street Superbad Blues than the band’s Tamworth and Atherstone foundations would suggest. At one point I was so locked in that I wasn’t surprised to catch sight of the Lone Groover (remember him from the NME, back in the day?) in the wings behind Ian Arnold, only to realise it was behatted co-founder/ever-present Sheas’ shadow.

We caught our breaths with the more spacy, slow-building old fave ‘Carry the News’, before a return to the latest release for ‘2 Die 4 U’, its naming convention suggesting a nod to Prince, that number fittingly followed by a Sly Stone tribute, Jonesy leading a chorus of ‘Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) before his chop guitar heralded a launch into mirror ball spinner ‘Heaven Knows Why’ from 2022’s Outside Looking In, more Studio 54 than 34 Church Street, complete with Shadows-like steps from the two Neils.

The main set ended with the rather apt ‘Now That You Want Me Back’, Melba Moore’s vocal taken on by the in crowd on another where Sheas’ pounding rhythmic bassline paved the way, our visitors then staying put rather than facing a trip back through the audience to find the dressing room, duly milking the applause before launching into a three-song encore, this sentimental fool rather emotional on hearing their no-nonsense rendition of current single, ‘Starting From Zero’, my highlight of the night and a contender for single of the year, those luscious horns adding to its Bowie-esque vibe.

There was still time for one last deep cut from the new record, ‘When Worlds Collide’, including plenty more sax appeal, Stone Foundation style, before a return to 2018’s Everybody, Anyone for ‘Next Time Around’, a perfect celebratory conclusion to a stonking 19-song set, this punter giving the only song from the new record not featured on the night, the dreamy ‘Summer Song’, a quick blast on the way home… the night going on and on and on. 

Beyond their support with Tom Jones at Cardiff Castle next month, Stone Foundation are at Hemel Hempstead Old Town Hall on 13^th September ahead of mainland European dates between 18^th September in Basel, Switzerland, and 22^nd September in Frankfurt, Germany, followed by dates across the Irish Sea on 26^th September at Dublin’s Workman’s Club Cellar and 27^th September at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre.They then set out for a run of UK dates, from The Bullingdon in Oxford on 23^rd October through to 29^th November at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in West London. For full details of all those dates and ticket links, head here.

For all the latest from Stone Foundation, including details of the band’s The Revival Of Survival acoustic session, featuring Neil Jones, Neil Sheasby, David Boraston and former Style Council pair Mick Talbot and Steve White, check out their website here and Facebook and Instagram pages.

And for more on Stone Foundation from these pages, check out these links for April 2017, October 2019, April 2022 and November 2023 feature/interviews with Neil Sheasby, and this September 2020 feature/interview with Neil Jones.