Babybird
Oh, it’s so great to have Stephen Jones and co back in in Norwich this evening, it’s certainly been a long time since I last saw them live that’s for sure. He arrives with a quite fantastic set list in tow and a wonderful band too and he is as ever up for having a great time as are we.
He starts proceeding with Failed Suicide Club, it sets the tone just perfectly, it’s just a classic piece of Jones writing with its dark humour. He informs us later that he’s a very cheerful person despite the deep reaching emotional turmoil and gloom of many of his songs.
There are songs of beauty too, The Way You Are, If You’ll Be Mine and Back Together and of course songs of badness in Bad Old Man, it’s all very dramatic in many of the songs but he can’t half hold a note when he gets going, he really does have quite a voice, check out the delightful Dead Bird Sings if you don’t believe me.
He is as eccentric as ever, he sometimes forgets the lyrics, but we’re of course more than happy to help him along the way, he is also full of jokes, satire, wit, and banter with the crowd and gives out some ramblings about the government on more than one occasion.
At times the evening is more like a rehearsal than a gig, it’s just like we have been invited into his studio in Sheffield to see him and his mates do their stuff.
Long-time collaborator Luke Scott breaks a string and asks for someone to fix it for him, luckily there is a willing volunteer in the audience, it just adds to the fun of the evening.
Jones makes us all fall about once again, when he asks the bar staff if he could please have a brandy for medicinal purposes, said drink is promptly then brought over to the stage to a big cheer and Jones’s delight.
Of course, we get the over played You’re Gorgeous towards the end, which despite all the commercialism and over playing that it has had over the years, is still a delight particularly to my son Tom, who has literally just discovered Babybird’s work this year on the back of that song.
Hopefully he has made a few quid along the way from that track and the F Word, that Gordon Ramsey used for his programme.
He winds up the evening with the brilliant Goodnight, it’s still sounding delightful as we all head home in the freezing cold air, slightly hoarse due to all the singing during the past two hours, I had kind of forgotten just how amazing and super talented Mr Jones is. But it’s a reminder that there is so much to them than first meets the eye to those not in the know.
It was good to share his company once again. It really has been great fun. He has for sure made us all smile very widely.
