I have fairly specific music tastes. I think I was born a couple of generations late, and like nothing more than rocking to Led Zeppelin, Queen and Pearl Jam. When it comes to our two children, they’ve been quite sheltered from modern music. There’s no Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift going on, instead they’re big fans of Foo Fighters and Royal Blood (although Disney has infiltrated somewhat).
Taking our kids to their first gig was always going to be a big deal for us. Thankfully, The Old Market in Brighton was a stop on the Andy and the Odd Socks tour.
If you’ve not heard of them, then let me enlighten you. I’m sure you’ll be familiar with Andy Day, the curly haired CBeebies presenter who fronts such classics as Andy’s Dinosaur / Prehistoric / Safari Adventures. Andy is the front man for the band, which also features Rio on bass, Blu on guitar, Moxi on drums and Cousin Mac on keyboards.
What’s very impressive in this day and age of auto tune and miming pop stars is that they’re a proper band, playing and singing live – plus some funky dance moves.
The songs are refreshing too, there’s nothing about love or relationships, instead the tracks feature important messages. Their newest release is Choose Respect, which has been developed in conjunction with the Anti-Bullying Alliance. The chorus is catchy and memorable – choose it, don’t lose it, and always use it, choose respect. It’s brilliant for younger kids, who can’t help but ask what’s going on in the cool video, which includes plenty of school kids getting in the groove. There’s also Unique, talking about friendship and embracing diversity.
If all those messages get a bit heavy, there’s some super fun tracks too – Dinosaur Football Legends Mega Match being a favourite in our house. Most of the tracks do have a video too.
As you can tell, we’re huge fans of Andy and the Odd Socks. It’s one of the few things that us as parents enjoy as much as the kids! I think that part of that enjoyment is the niceness and innocence of the band and their songs, they’re all great role models for our children. They really do go above and beyond, like their support for Anti-Bullying Week and properly engaging with their fans.
Andy and the Odd Socks’ album Who Invited This Lot is available to buy now, and you can follow the band on social media. They’re supporting Anti-Bullying Week with a whole host of activities, kicking off on 12th November.