It’s 2005, or somewhere there abouts. Kaiser Chiefs are on stage. You can take your pick of small venues – they played them all. Their massive debut album ‘Employment’ is about to be released. Maybe it just came out. It doesn’t matter, this happened more than once. They’re playing one of the tracks from it – ‘What Did I Ever Give You’. It gets to the third line.
“Hold tight, to your Red Stripe…”
And up they go. Countless cans of the stuff. Like half the venue had popped to the bar just for the occasion. It might seem like an in-joke between a legion of fans, watching what at the time was the most exciting new band in the country, but really, it was more than that.
There’s no denying that your choice of drink plays a big part in British music culture. From the wall to wall alcohol sponsorships of UK festivals, to what you pick up from the bar at that basement party, it goes beyond simply having a cold one, and into the very fabric of the music itself.
Though its roots may traditionally lie in reggae, Red Stripe holds a very special place in the hearts of those who frequent the foundations of our live music scene. Indie clubs up and down the nation have run on the stuff for decades. The canal through Camden may as well run full of the stuff. It’s the can the legendary bands are holding in the photos of old magazines. A natural fit, it’s part of the fabric.
Twelve years on from that mid naughties phenomenon, and that iconic can is still there. The bands may change, the sounds evolve, but like a secret passed on from generation, the Red Stripe remains eternal. Nobody would have it any other way.
This post is sponsored by Red Stripe.