Lloyd Cole

It's fair to say that Lloyd Cole and the Commotions got me through my teenage years. When the batteries worked in my Walkman, a cassette version of 'Rattlesnakes' helped me to deliver newspapers on freezing cold mornings. I lapped up the lyrics, ostentatiously pretending to get the references to films and books I still haven't read. I sat for hours in my bedroom, attempting to master the chords to 'Perfect Skin' on my battered acoustic. Years have passed since then, technologies have changed, we've all got older (and I no longer do a paper round) but tonight I can hardly contain my excitement as I wait in Nottingham's Glee Club for Lloyd Cole to take to the stage. 

And I'm not alone. I am surrounded by people who are of similar age to me. I guess it's predominantly men in here. We all have less hair, more weight and fewer teeth. We're relieved that it's an all-seating venue tonight for standing might wear us out. The Glee Club glows in a reddish hue. Silk Curtains are draped around the venue to offer a theatrical swish. Across two levels, stalls and circle, people anticipate the arrival of Lloyd to stage. 

The ageing process has been kind to Lloyd. His hair might have greyed and his jawbone might be less chiselled than it was back in the 80's but here is a man who still has the style to turn heads. He ambles out to his mic and plugs in one of his two acoustic guitars. There's an attentive hush that descends across the crowd as Lloyd launches into set opener, 'Past Imperfect'. “What was on my mind in Amsterdam in 1984”, he sings, cross-referencing back to lost weekends, younger years and a little bit of nostalgic reminiscence. We go 'To The Church' next and Cole dryly observes that the mention of “forty five year olds” was from a time when he thought this to be very old. 

It's not all about nostalgia and getting older though. Cole has recently had an excursion on Later With Jools Holland (“I only waited 23 years for that. I thought Jools didn't like me”) and has a new album out, Standards, that has met with many positive reviews. It appears that his star is again in the ascendancy. As you'd expect, there are tunes from it interspersed with his more familiar classics. 'Period Piece' is an excellent addition to the Cole canon. 'Myrtle and Rose' stands out. Only somebody with the stylised diction he has could rhyme 'elevator' and 'operator' to such dramatic, poetic effect. 'It's Late' has a simple 50's Country swing. It's the sort of song you can imagine Roy Orbison singing if he was still alive. 'Diminished Ex' closes the first half with Lloyd punching the words out as if he's in a Dylan tribute band. 

It's a show of two halves and Cole is determined to give the crowd value. With encore, I count 31 songs in tonight's set. It's a testament to the quality of the songwriting on show that this is never once a show that drags even though visually it's just Lloyd and a guitar. Here is a man who seems to be enjoying his exchanges with the polite audience of Nottingham. “I'm the opening act tonight (dramatic pause) and then I'll come back and headline”, he quips early on. He's not lost the self-deprecating manner that might have labelled him awkward by Smash Hits back in the day but he now delivers in a confident yet humble manner. “Shows such as this provide an intimacy between myself and an audience that was altogether (longer dramatic pause) unintended,” he teases. He tells us about the full band show he's preparing for next year and many of us reserve tickets in our heads. 

We are partly here to see how the songs we remember from years gone have stood the test of time. There's a healthy amount of Commotion songs in which to indulge. 'Rattlesnakes' is thrown away early in the set. 'Cut Me Down' works splendidly with this stripped-back simpler arrangement. Somebody drops a glass at the bar shattering the silence and Lloyd is quick to see the potential humour as he sings, “Are you ready to bleed” from 'Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?' If anything, his voice has got richer over the years and his guitar playing more consummate. There's a clarity to these songs, an immediacy of meaning that might have been lost in more produced surroundings. 

We guess we might be onto the home straight when Lloyd encourages a singalong for anyone who is Welsh in the audience. 'Jennifer She Said' sounds no less jaunty and even more of a chart hit than when it first got an airing. 'Perfect Skin' and 'Lost Weekend' are left to the end of the set and we're all transported back to paper rounds and Sony Walkmans. The audience rise to their feet for the first time tonight demanding more and Lloyd doesn't leave it long before returning with an almost blues-skiffle version of 'My Bag'. I briefly wonder if it's an unintended nod to one of this town's football teams as he closes his encore with 'Forest Fire.'

Let's not beat around the bush. This has been a special set. I've not even mentioned the cover version of Leonard Cohen's 'Chelsea Hotel' that gets an airing early on. Tonight has been one where we've been encouraged to reminisce whilst keeping a foot in the here and now. As I drive home in my car, there is one line from one tune that my head keeps returning to. Lloyd Cole is singing “Life seems neverending when you're young” from 'Don't Look Back'. I am guilty as charged.