1,342 THOMAS DOLBY, Martin McAloon, Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, Sunday 18th August 2024

 

This hectic 3-in-3 closes out with a rare excursion to the Black Country; only my 3^rd ever gig in Wolverhampton, and this time it’s a debut on my “Dance Card” for a gent I’ve nonetheless admired since I was a teenager… I’d first come across Thomas Dolby in 1981 on his debut 7” single, an embryonic slab of brooding synthpop called “Urges”, which also featured an equally excellent B-side in the hypnotically austere “Leipzig”. If I’d enjoyed that debut, however, I was utterly blown away by the follow-up… “Europa And The Pirate Twins” and its’ story of unrequited friendship set against a Cold War background, was an utterly devastating and zeitgeist-grabbing slice of utter synthpop euphoria, joyous and heartbreaking in equal measure, and worthy of its’ place as an absolute classic of its’ genre, alongside the likes of “I Travel” and “Empire State Human”. Dolby, for me, never approached that level again, his subsequent string of 80’s pop hits nonetheless being quirky and entertaining, with Dolby himself adopting a slightly befuddled mad professor persona, at one point roping in slightly befuddled mad TV professor Magnus Pyke to stridently exclaim “Science!” on his best-known 80’s work.

I’d recently been revisiting the synthpop side of my musical heritage with the likes of Blancmange and Heaven 17 but given Dolby had eschewed his 80’s pop career in favour of film and computer game soundtracking and US tech company consulting, our paths were seemingly unlikely to ever cross “live”. So, when the man announced a rare-as-rocking-horse-shit UK jaunt, I jumped at it, particularly as setlist research suggested “Europa” is a staple of the set. Happily, so did (relatively) local former TTP friend Rog, so after a testing 2 hour mainly cross-country drive, we met up in a deserted Wolverhampton town centre, nonetheless enjoying a Turkish meal and a long-overdue catch-up in the one open restaurant we found, before hitting the venue just after 7.30. A seated one, this, so I took my spot in row K for support Martin McAloon, formerly of 80’s soul boy indie chart botherers Prefab Sprout alongside his brother and PS main-man Paddy. I was never much of a fan of their crafted and melodic but (for me) anodyne 80’s pop, and Martin’s performance tonight gave me absolutely no desire to revisit them. From the off it seemed to be one bum note after another, McAloon then forgetting the mid-section lyric to “When Love Breaks Down” – only one of ‘da Sprouts two best-known numbers! – and the whole first line to a later “Barney”. OK, he was very realistic about it (“let’s manage expectations!” being one line, in response to an audience applause on introducing one number), but frankly it came across to me as unprepared and unprofessional. A muted crowd singalong to the hook of “King Of Rock’n’Roll” (whilst McAloon bafflingly took it upon himself to sing the chorus of T Rex’ “Get It On”) suggested I might not have been the only one thinking that way, and a bit of an out-of-tune balls-up version of my favourite PS number “Faron Young” was the sour icing on a complete mess of a support set.

Met up with Rog (who’d sensibly stayed in the bar) and chatted with a couple of gents here from Coventry, before taking my seat again just before the lights dimmed and a single key note played as intro music. Thomas Dolby, slim, casually dressed and with his recent new coiffure knocking 10 years off his 65, sauntered onstage, asked, “can you hear me?” through a vocoder, then eased into a stripped back cover of New Order’s pioneering synth dance crossover “Blue Monday”! A surprising yet entertaining start, then, followed up by an excellent “Evil Twin Brother”, Dolby’s largely spoken word vocals and eerie synth backwash painting an evocative pulp novel picture of rainy alleyways and police sirens. Then “Europa”… 

The unmistakeable 6-beat staccato opening of “Europa And The Pirate Twins” heralded a brilliantly clear, thankfully extended (I’d have been happy for it to go on all night, really…!) and utterly majestic version, Dolby abandoning his keyboard set-up to overlay some strident harmonica and lead a clap-along as I danced in my seat as best I could, throwing arms up for the hook. As it ended, I noticed Rog only a couple of rows behind me and joined him in the empty seat next to him, remarking, “we might as well all go home now, we’re not going to hear anything to top that tonight!” Maybe not, but close… Anyway, the haunting “One Of Our Submarines”, next up, featured a bubbling synth undercurrent with WWII footage on the screen backdrop, and a brief nod to Gary Numan’s “Cars”, Dolby remarking at its conclusion, “I’ve just been on an 80’s US tour… it was clear that all [the crowds] wanted to hear was a medley of my hit!” “I Love You Goodbye”’s initial bossa-nova esque feel ceded to an evocative rainswept “LA Woman”-like keyboard refrain; “Spice Train” saw a belly dancer film to augment its heavy swampy middle Eastern tinged rhythm; and “Budapest By Blimp” was an expansive travelogue, folding in a late night jazz café feel with some decidedly Scott Walker/ Glenn Gregory-esque baritone crooner vocals from Dolby. The man can sing, no messin’…

However, next up was a highlight which almost – almost – approached “Europa” in its’ widescreen magnificence for me; Dolby shared his experience of meeting his hero David Bowie, warning us, “you might need a hankie for the next song” then delivered a poignant yet triumphant and genuinely affecting version of the man’s “Heroes”, accompanied by footage of 1985’s “Live Aid” Wembley gig, where, of course, Dolby played keyboards during Bowie’s performance. Wow. Just… wow. 

Following an understandably lengthy ovation, Dolby invited us all to our feet (finally!!!) for the funky brass blare of the quirky “Hyperactive” and inevitable set closer “She Blinded Me With Science”, the 2 original 80’s videos being played on the screen in accompaniment… well, apart from “other celebrities” such as Hilary Clinton (!), JFK (!!) and “Breaking Bad”’s duo of Walter and Jesse (!!!) joining Magnus Pyke in the “Science!!” declamation onscreen. An entertaining way to close out a set waaaay better than I’d anticipated, Dolby coming across as a natural showman, relaxed, confident and urbane throughout. A couple of encores, including the stark, elegiac and Bowie-esque “Airwaves” saw out a thoroughly excellent proper performance from the man, who deservedly took in a lengthy ovation at the end. I made a beeline to the front and was rewarded with the stage mixing desk’s list (yay!), before collecting my thoughts and chatting with Rog outside. Eventually bade farewell to my old friend, then hit the road for an equally painful extraction from Wolverhampton, the 10 or so miles to M5 J2 seemingly taking forever, forcing me to stop every hundred yards or so at every! Single! Fucking! Red! Light! Eventually back to the ‘don for a weary 12.30. However, on reflection I won’t remember the journey or the crap support, I’ll just remember “Europa”, “Heroes” and mostly the affable, cultured genius of a true Renaissance man, namely Mr. Thomas Dolby!