Heaven 17 @ The Roundhouse, Camden

In amongst the midst of reunion hysteria, which has hit the British music industry like the black plague, opinions have been brewed and then split vigorously. Though for every major name act who reunite to force a smile beneath a plethora of cash, there is a band sticking their old boots on who had maybe just a modicum of chart success, but who spoke to tight legions of people who would follow their every move and learn the words to every song.

For those bands, it can reignite people’s connection and open opportunities for genuine fans, old and new, to enjoy the whole experience, be it for the first time or just one of many. So let’s pray Heaven 17 are the latter.

It’s a Friday night at The Roundhouse, so you can probably sense what the atmosphere was like. Performing what, it might be fair to say, is their seminal album, The Luxury Gap, they join the stage suited and booted, a nervously excited Glenn Gregory welcomes the crowd as they launch into opener ‘Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry’. The familiar bass plucks cut the air and the band look confident and aware, enthralled to be gracing the stage. And according to the best part of 3000 in attendance, the feeling is mutual.

The set covers The Luxury Gap in its entirety, including tracks like 'Let Me Go which are executed with a fresh and crisp delivery, not so much a revisiting of past glories, as it is replenishing them in a new light. We’re informed through jovial banter between Glenn Gregory, Martyn Ware and the appreciative audience that “this is still the fastest song we’ve ever done” before the electronic kick drum thuds of 'We Live So Fast' enter. And as the bridge section drops in 'Temptation', it’s a stark reminder of why some tunes will always resonate. Hey, you don’t wind up on the Trainspotting soundtrack for nothing.

The set concludes to magnanimous applause for final album track 'The Best Kept Secret' and the set is then followed by a string of hits, including The Righteous Brother's 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' and their own politically charged '(We Don't Need This) Facist Groove Thang', a sleek rendition in honour to a song which has rekindled it's poignance.

Tonight the audience is a mix bag, cultivated from hardcore fans, party goers, younger hipsters and Dad's taking their kids "to see some real music, son". But what an effort from Gregory, Ware and co. With their career spanning over three decades now, this could be a defining moment, who knows?

Over on Saturday night and The Roundhouse accommodates Belgian electronic veterans 2manyDJs, taking a rest from their Soulwax moniker. Gearing up the audience they play out their idiosyncratic blend of rock and electronica, dipping in and out of hypnotic Krautrock tendencies.

Following that, BEF take to their stage for the cabaret performance supporting the foundation itself and their new album Dark. Faces old and new, young and old, some familiar, some not so. Personalities such as former Ultravox man Midge Ure, who jokingly informs "There will be no Vienna this evening, this is Music of Quality and Distinction". He's not lying either, as his 'Secret life of Arabia' proves, with the repetitive funk guitar against the incessant bass drum thuds.

A confident Kim Wilde performs her rendition of Stevie Wonder's 'Everytime I See You I Go Wild' to a less receptive crowd, although it nestles in perfectly with the albums theme - reworking songs in a 'dark' way - hence the title ‘Dark’.

There are other moments that are immediately luring, such as Green Gartside's emotive and intense take on The Delfonics ‘Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time’ and the more obvious, like Boy George's ephemeral look at Lou Reed's ‘Make Up’.

But the key moments tonight feature younger singers like Polly Scattergood, with a voice beyond her years, or former Long Blondes singer Kate Jackson who takes Blondie's ‘Picture This’ into depths previously unknown, demonstrating the resonating influence the BEF has had, and is likely to continue to have. An array of faces grace the stage for the final encore of Heaven 17's ‘Temptation’ with the crowd in their palm. Music of Quality and Distinction indeed.