July 2007 saw a host of unexpected acts of God, including torrential rains flooding the streets of Britain and, possibly even more unlikely, an onstage collaboration between Ukranian gypsy punks, Gogol Bordello, and Queen of Pop, Madonna.

Consisting of Russians on accordions, Israeli guitarists and a Ukranian singer, Gogol Bordello have never traditionally been thought of as mainstream. So the question is, how the hell did they get to be on stage with Madonna during last month’s Live Earth concerts?

Originating from New York’s immigrant communities and named after a writer famed for “smuggling” Ukranian culture into the literary world (obviously!), Gogol Bordello have embarked upon a quest to “smuggle their music into the English speaking world”.

And the Madonna connection? Beyond music, flamboyant front-man Eugene Hutz has also starred in a number of films, with one of his future projects - Filth and Wisdom - actually being directed by Madge herself. Always keen to be seen with her finger on the pulse, Madonna invited Eugene and bandmate Sergey to join her onstage at Live Earth to perform “La Isla Bonita”, which was televised to millions across the world. Well smuggled, lads!

Eccentric, leftfield and spontaneous, Bordello have won fans through raucous cabaret shows where climbing stages, jumping off rigging and finding yourself naked aren’t out of the ordinary. Now signed to a major punk label, Bordello have been hitting the festivals hard this year, and you can catch them promoting their new album, Super Taranta, at upcoming shows at Exeter’s Beautiful Days festival, Carling Weekend and a UK tour scheduled for December.

If you missed their breakout performance at Live Earth with Mrs Richie, you can view it below:

[Clare Joslin]

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