Live Review: Lloyd Cole, The Barbican, London – 25th January 2025

Photo: Mark Dellas

Upon opening the Barbican Centre on  3 March 1982, the Queen remarked that it is “one of the wonders of the modern world”. That remains a moot point, however, it can’t be denied that the centre puts on a world-class programme of music, theatre, cinema and visual arts. Although in the past, the Barbican’s acoustics has had its critics, to these ears the sound has always been crystal clear, which together with comfy seats and clear sightlines generally make for an enjoyable evening, especially for audiences of certain age, which is what Lloyd Cole’s fans are.

Sticking to the colour he wore last time he played London 16 months ago, The Man In White, (aka Mr Cole), leads the band on stage at exactly 8 pm for the first of two sets. Neil Clark and Blair Cowan who back in the 1980s constituted 50% of Cole’s backing band, The Commotions, play guitar and keyboards respectively. The lineup is completed by the wonderfully multi-talented Signy Jakobsdottir on drums and percussion.

Cole may be best known for his perfectly formed, guitar-based, pop songs, however, he has a longstanding interest in electronic music, which first saw the light of day in 2001 on an album of instrumentals entitled “Plastic Wood”. His last record “On Pain” reflected this fascination with hardly a guitar in earshot. The set opens with ‘Wolves’ which, in this acoustic setting, is reworked considerably from its synth-heavy album version. By the third song Cole is ruminating on the passing of time as he plays ‘Trigger Happy’ from his 1994 album “Love Story” which at the time he says he viewed as a “mid career album“.

Cole indicates that the London audience has been better behaved than their Manchester counterparts at the Bridgewater Hall the previous evening, because apparently the “Mancs last night were drunk“. The 45 minute, 11 song, bass less opening set ends with a couple of 1980s’ classics in the form of ‘Rattlesnakes’ and ‘Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?’.

© Richard Reed

After a 20 minute break the band are back for an electric set, with Cole primarily on bass. He’d been practising playing the instrument so much for the tour that at one point he developed tendonitis. Cole’s bass playing certainly fits the bill, even though it may not be up to Paul McCartney’s standards which is alluded to when he wryly remarks that “It’s like Wings in 1975 right?.” After playing ‘Minor Character’,  a song which according to Cole has been in “cold storage for some time” we get ‘The Young Idealists’ which Cole was told is from his “least successful record so far” courtesy of a heckler on his last tour. The heckling in London is more sympathetic as an audience member shouts out “You’ve still got it Lloyd” to which he self-deprecatingly replies “You’re a very good liar“.  However, the heckler is correct. Cole’s voice still sounds wonderful, and Clark and Cowan are great musicians. The icing on the cake is Jakobsdottir. Her versatility, in the way she plays the drums with her hands, brushes and sticks, often whilst also playing a shaker, and at the same time contributing backing vocals is something to behold.

A career-spanning 15 song second set ends with Cole’s touching ode to David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s time in Berlin entitled ‘The Idiot’, which is swiftly followed by ‘Brand New Friend’ and ‘Forest Fire’, after which the group take their leave. They return for a two song encore during which the band are introduced and the night comes to a close with Cole back on acoustic guitar playing ‘Jennifer She Said’, a nod to the fickle nature of love and the dangers of acting in haste.

As I wend my way back to the tube station through the Barbican’s landscape of brutalist concrete structures, I ponder the fact that they are a reminder of an era of post-war optimism and progressive politics, when it appeared that things were changing for the better. Cole in many ways harks back to a different time as well. However, his last album and new songs show that he’s not stuck in the past and keeps moving forward, which can only be a good thing.

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