Glitter, Encores and the Lost-Hairclip Code: Bonnie’s Rules for a Proper Bonnettes Night

Bonnie here. I’ve stood on enough sticky-carpeted stages, shouted into enough borrowed microphones and retrieved enough glitter hairclips from other people’s pints to know that a great gig is not just about the setlist. It’s about the room. It’s about the audience. It’s about the person near the front who commits so fully to the backing vocal that they accidentally headbutt a stranger during the key change. With the 2026 gig calendar already filling up, here are my ten tongue-in-cheek commandments for a proper Bonnettes night out. Follow them and you’ll leave with your dignity mostly intact, your ears ringing and at least one new friend.

1. Dress for the Photograph You’ll Regret

There is no such thing as overdressed for a retro-pop gig, only under-prepared. Sequins are encouraged. Velvet is welcome. A coat that can survive a Northern rail replacement bus is essential. My rule is simple: wear one thing that catches the light and one thing that keeps you warm. If you end up on somebody’s camera roll looking like a glittering traffic cone, congratulations — you’ve done it right.

2. Learn the Shout-Back Before You Need It

You don’t have to know every word. Nobody expects you to nail the middle eight after one listen. But there is always one line the crowd shouts back, and it is your civic duty to join in by the second chorus. If you’re unsure, stand near the person with the biggest hair. They always know.

3. Keep Your Glitter to Yourself (Mostly)

Body glitter is a beautiful thing until it migrates. I speak as someone who has found sparkle in a venue kettle, a taxi seat and, once, a hotel breakfast pastry. Be generous with the shimmer, but be sensible. A light dusting is a mood. A full glitter explosion is a cleanup operation.

4. The Dropped Hairclip Protocol

This is the one that separates the amateurs from the veterans. If a glitter hairclip falls during a gig, do not dive. Do not panic. Do not pretend it didn’t happen and then spend three songs wondering if it’s under your boot. The correct move is: one graceful swoop, a quick check that no one is mid-spin, and then either clip it back in or pocket it with the quiet dignity of someone who has survived worse. If someone else spots it first, you say ‘cheers’ and carry on. This is the Bonnettes way.

5. Buy the T-Shirt Before the First Drink

Merch tables are like encore decisions: easier before everyone has had a pint. Buy the T-shirt, the tote bag, the badge set. You will not regret it on Monday morning when you’re wearing the T-shirt and pretending you’re not still humming the setlist at your desk.

6. Do Not Fight the Key Change

When the key change arrives, you have two options: go with it or go with it loudly. There is no third option. A Bonnettes key change is not a technicality; it’s a group activity. Raise the roof, hold the note if you can, and if you can’t, aim for enthusiasm over accuracy.

7. Respect the Support Act

They’ve travelled. They’ve soundchecked. They’re probably selling a cassette with a hand-drawn sleeve. Give them your attention, not just your applause. The best gigs are the ones where the room is warm from the first note, not just the headliner. Besides, you might discover your new favourite band before everyone else does.

8. Encore Etiquette Is a Two-Way Street

We love an encore. We also love not standing in a car park at midnight wondering if the last train was a myth. So here’s the deal: stamp, clap, sing the chorus until we come back, but know when to let us go. A good encore is a shared joke, not a hostage situation. If the house lights come on, the house lights have spoken.

9. Have One Song for the Walk Home

Pick a song before you leave the venue. It might be the one that made you cry, the one you texted your mate about, or the one you’ll butcher on the walk to the station. That’s your soundtrack for the journey home. It’s part of the night. It makes the bus feel like a stage.

10. Leave a Little Sparkle Behind

By sparkle, I mean good manners. Put your glass back. Check on the person who’s had one too many. Tell the band they were good, even if you’re shy. The Bonnettes are built on the idea that a gig is a room full of people choosing to be a bit daft together. You don’t have to be the loudest person there. You just have to add something. A whoop, a clap, a compliment to a stranger’s jacket. That’s the sparkle. That’s the whole point.