Musings and some images from Alan Dearling
This four-gig mini-tour is an ‘almost’ annual event and as usual it was much anticipated. Tickets were eagerly grabbed as soon as they went on sale. As it said in the advance publicity: “Expect garage rock, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Glam from ‘Britain’s Best Garage band’! Four nights of high octane, sin-drenched songs to celebrate another Loveless Christmas.”
Loveless are: Marc Almond on vocals, Neal X of Sigue Sigue Sputnik on stun guitar, Iggy’s former rhythm section Ben Ellis and Mat Hector and James Beaumont on keys. It’s a kind of a punk-edged, glam-rock garage super group – great fun and a real crowd pleaser.
2024 album video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1515314902589267
Live from the current tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOw302qzzQs
Here’s what UK Blitz magazine says about them:
“Everyone remembers their first love – even The Loveless!
The Loveless could be accused of being a covers band but they are so immersed in the smouldering tension of the material, it fits them like a second skin.”
I witnessed The Loveless at the remarkable independent venue that is the Trades Club in Yorkshire’s Hebden Bridge. DJ (and author and journalist) Adelle Stripe had created a great vibe with her selector skills. Lots of edgy songs that many in the audience knew, loved, and sang and danced along with. As fellow record-spinner, Dave Turner remarked: “It was a top gig. I thought the DJ warmed the crowd up nicely with some great tunes.”
From their own promo, it suggests that The Loveless serve up: “The songs that awoke their delinquent desire for snaky tunes played in seamy dives, The Loveless bring you their debut full length album Meet The Loveless – a potent brew of ’70s rock, ’60s R&B and Garage Rock with nods to T. Rex, Iggy, David Bowie and Alice Cooper. Where the Kinks’ moody ‘I’m Not Like Everybody Else’ rubs shoulders with The Sorrow’s ‘Take A Heart’. The Shadows Of Night’s ‘Dark Side’ shimmies up against Smokey’s ‘Hot, Hard & Ready’.”
They have released a couple of albums, one featuring former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, who rock ‘n’ rolls with Almond on the Bo Diddley classic ‘Pills’ and two Almond/Neal X original songs, ‘Nothing At All’ and ‘Wild In The Streets’. It’s all very risqué, and very tongue firmly in cheek. Decadent pop, and as it says about the ‘Meet The Loveless’ album – “Songs for sailors ‘n’ sluts, wantons ‘n’ night hawks, sirens ‘n’ sinners, werewolves ‘n’ kittens, the misbegotten and the unforgiven.”
If there was one sombre cloud hanging over the proceedings it was that Marc’s partner in Soft Cell had died after a making a triumphant return with Marc at the recent Rewind festival. Here’s what Marc recently wrote:
“Dear Soft Cell fans
It is hard to write this, let alone process it, but it is with the greatest sadness that the other half of Soft Cell, the wonderful brilliant musical genius David Ball, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday night. As many of you are aware, Dave has been ill for a long while and his health had been in slow decline over recent years.
Yet he always came back with a determined spirit to continue his work in the studio and, although he has been unable to travel abroad, he has still been able to perform with me as Soft Cell on occasions in the UK. His last appearance was at the Rewind festival a few weeks ago, where we headlined to over 20,000 people, after which he was elated and given an enormous boost.
It is most heartbreaking, particularly at this time, that Dave was in a great place emotionally, feeling focused and happy with the new album, Danceteria, that we literally had only just completed days ago. I listened to the complete album for the first time yesterday. It makes me so sad as this would have been a great uplifting year for him and I can take solace that he heard this finished record and felt it was a great piece of work. Dave’s music is better than ever – his tunes, his hooks unmistakably Soft Cell. Yet he always took it to a different level.”
