1,159 ADORABLE, London Shepherd’s Bush Bush Hall, Saturday 2nd November 2019

I never thought I’d get the chance to right this particular ancient gig wrong; let alone do it in such spectacular fashion…!

A recap, first; Adorable burst onto a sullen and moribund grunge/ baggy dominated early 90’s rock scene in a riot of colour, swagger and post-punk influenced crunchy guitar tuneage and soaring choruses. “The House Of Love, only with more wah-wah”, as I described them on first sight supporting Curve in March 1992 (gig 206), they seamlessly made the transition from ultra-promising support act to stellar headliners and festival faves, eliciting a bumpy ride in the music press in the process for refusing to “play the game” and allow themselves to be (incorrectly) pigeonholed in with the nascent shoegaze crowd. Brilliant every time I saw them, apart from the last, infamous sighting at Windsor Old Trout (gig 267), where, in a haze of post-footy Premiership away win celebration, I’d literally drunk myself under the bar, and was waaaay too pissed to remember even seeing their set! No matter, thought I at the time, they’ve just released their second album so should be back for more dates later… unfortunately, there was to be no “later”, as shortly thereafter internal pressures prompted an acrimonious onstage break-up. D’oh!

Former Adorable frontman Pete Fij (now on an excellent acoustic trip, of course, ironically with The House Of Love’s virtuoso guitarist Terry Bickers) had happily cropped up in recent times on my gig itinerary, but his Facebook proclamations underlined his steadfast refusal to revisit the past and get the old band back together. That is, right up until he did…! Scarcely believable news broke that, to commemorate the 25^th Anniversary of the breakup, Pete was reforming Adorable for a couple of dates, then splitting up again, this time on more friendly terms. Woah! We snapped up tix immediately for Bush Hall Saturday as they sold out within seconds… clearly we weren’t the only ones anticipating this reunion! Overwhelmed by the wave of affection for the band, Pete added a couple of other dates, but we stuck with this one… an opportunity to see them one last time – and pay attention this time!

So, still getting used to the wet and cold UK after the previous week in Marrakech, I was picked up by Tim, along with Rich, for a sodden drive up, parking just before 6.30 on the Uxbridge Road, a short walk from the venue. Joined the queue and got in at 7 p.m. doors to grab an excellent spot on the corner of the stage, house left, in this old ornate theatre hall. No support; instead a very gloomy black and white French film was projected onto a screen (one of Mr. Fij’s other passions, apparently). Didn’t do much for me, I’m afraid, and I needed a couple of nervous comfort breaks before the band were due on at 8.45. Really rather stupidly looking forward to this one, I’m happy to admit!

The lights smashed to black and a gloomy piano piece heralded the band onto the smoke-swathed stage, with the moody bass intro to “I’ll Be Your Saint” sneaking surreptitiously in, Pete delivering the vocal with the right level of detachment and ennui. Clad all in white, with his trademark beige “Randall And Hopkirk” leather jacket firmly in place and floppy fringe tumbling over his face, he looked like he’d stepped out of a time warp, and the band played like it – like they hadn’t missed a beat since 1994. The 4^th of the 5 reunion shows, this one was tight as a gnats chuff, remarkable for a band who (Pete apart) had largely abandoned playing music! The gloriously acerbic chorus to “Vendetta”, one of my favourites, was up next, followed by the careering rollercoaster punk rock riffery of “Favourite Fallen Idol”, guitarist Rob Dillam already shouting, “fucking come on!!!”, exhorting the crowd to be noisier, more passionate, more engaged, just fucking MORE – so I followed suit and went for it!

This was truly one for the ages, a redemption for all (myself included, given my last, drunken Adorable “live” experience first time around). Ignored by the press, tagged as perennial underdogs, then having their image and swagger subsequently co-opted by much more successful but infinitely lesser bands (yup, Oasis, I’m talking about you…), this band should have been utterly massive, but instead engendered a level of cult devotion from the likes of those present tonight, and duly rewarded them with a magnificent performance. “Glorious” lived up to its name, soaring and heavenly, “Sunburnt” was a lovely insular and melancholy wallow, and “Sunshine Smile” with its’ pregnant mid-song pause and speeded-up climax (2 of my favourite song devices) was utterly majestic and enthusiastically received, prompting Pete to comment, “when we got back together we didn’t expect this type of reception!” “Sistine Chapel Ceiling” was similarly soaring and magnificent, with a huge, ball-crunching climax, then before the plaintive, elegiac set finale of “Breathless”, guitarist Rob, clearly moved, crouched down and covered his face, taking a moment (and some words from his wife, watching on from the wings) to compose himself. You know what, I think we all felt a little like that…

“This is not about new beginnings,” announced Pete as part of a carpe-diem infused, redemptive monologue before the encore, “this was an opportunity to rewrite the end”. And hoo boy, did they go out on a high… the growling verse and massive chorus of “Homeboy” ultimately ceded to the most fitting finale, “A To Fade In”; gloriously emotive and emotional, as well as a should’ve-been lighters-aloft stadium anthem, Pete leading the crowd in the “ba ba ba baa’”s before taking in the devoted applause.

Patience was rewarded afterwards, as after a short wait I grabbed pix and setlist signatures from a predictably-besieged band, before we hit the road after Lebanese flatbread takeout. Delicious, but not as much as the performance we’d just seen from Adorable; as I mentioned, this was both a redemption and a celebration of a superb band who fully deserve their place in the annals of rock. Gig of the Year so far? Rather goes without saying…!