The uproarious force of nature that is Panic Shack is crash-landing in Newcastle this May for a right royal knees.

If Ken Loach had moved into performing fizz-bomb-fuelled punk rock, instead of directing films that spoke of economic and social deprivation, then he might have come up with ‘Meal Deal’. A song by Panic Shack it runs thus: “Going out for a meal deal, ‘Cause my house is fucking freezing, Can’t stand it any longer, Can just about afford my heating.” ‘Meal Deal’ was an early blast of promise from Panic Shack, a band now confirmed as one of the most exciting guitar outfits to come out of the UK in years. And – just like the best working-class artists – they also use tipping-a-wink humour to inform their work. That’s very evident on probably their best known song ‘The Ick’, which details how a date hasn’t went as well as they’d hoped (“He shushed me in the cinema, You do not shush me in the cinema”). This year, they’ve already hit us up with 2025’s best song in ‘Gok Won’, which rails against the hoops women are encouraged to jump through in order to achieve the perfect body (“Who needs brains when you’ve got hip bones like mine?”). They’re an absolute riot live and I expect their Newcastle show to be all kinds of brilliant. RM

Panic Shack, Sunday 11 May, The Cluny, Newcastle, 7.30pm, £15, thecluny.com