Supergrass were the brightest and best of the Britpop babies, the talented Oxford mini-dons who hitched a lift on a cultural bandwagon that became a juggernaut, but had their own charm and momentum. Still, they never bettered debut album I Should Coco as a showcase for their exuberance, all the more audacious for being written in their late teens.

Gaz Coombes (with big brother Rob on crucial keyboards), Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey were still supping from the elixir of life as they celebrated the 30th anniversary of an album which clearly has a portrait hidden in the attic. Supergrass are not so young and free but those gnashers were still gleaming as they tore through the track listing. ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ is still one of the all-time great debut singles, full of teenage brio, while somehow the sunny, buoyant ‘Alright’ has survived complete over-exposure. Even the title of the helter skelter ‘Mansize Rooster’ marked them out as a band of particular character and imagination, who made pounding pub piano sound like the most radical intervention.

Garage bruiser ‘Lose It’ demonstrated that those kids were already exercising heavier ambitions. As is customary, they jammed out that taut, teasing intro to ‘Lenny’ before a turbo-charged take-off, while the undulating rhythms and Coombes’ soaring vocals propelled ‘She’s So Loose’ to the stratosphere. The momentum fell off slightly mid-set once the singles were dispatched, though the pure 60s pop of ‘Sofa (Of My Lethargy)’ was a delightful deep cut before they revved up again for a second half and encore of later classics from the grungy thrash and theremin action of ‘Richard III’ through the languorous, pastoral ‘Moving’ and ‘Late In The Day’, to the joyous glam pop of ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’. 

Supergrass are on tour until Saturday 31 May; reviewed at Barrowlands, Glasgow; pictures by Stewart Fullerton.