Paul Heaton - Pryzm, Kingston - 4th March 2025

I've always liked Paul Heaton's various musical projects and had seen him and the excellent Jacqui Abbott at Somerset House some years ago

Recent reviews of him (following a great set at Glastonbury last year) had been very positive, so when I saw one of the album launch gigs at Pryzm, courtesy of Banquet Records, I snapped up a CD and ticket.

Oddly, the album was released a few months before the gig, so I put it on in the car and listened to it as I drove to Kingston.

There were two sessions this evening (as is often the way for more popular acts here) and I had a ticket for the late (8PM doors) one.

I arrived about 8 and could see a queue, so nipped in the Wetherspoons across the road, before returning to join the queue.

I finally got in around 8:30 and ended up on a slightly raised area above the floor and directly facing the stage (I'd been to one side for Franz Ferdinand earlier in the year).

Screens above the stage informed us that Paul Heaton would be on stage at 9:10 and moments before that the lights went down and he, two guitarists and a blonde woman came on.

Paul pointed out there was no drummer, unwell and self-inflicted, apparently, and that we should all post to social media that it was better without a drummer - So, done!

The woman was Rianne Downey who has taken over the singing duties from Jacqui Abbott on recent tours and the latest album, The Mighty Several.

The first song was from that album, but the second came as a nice surprise.

'Ol Red Eyes Is Back' is a firm favourite Beautiful South song of mine, so I was delighted to hear it.

Only one clip from this event as I somehow managed to record all the subsequent ones in slow motion, without audio!

Rianne took the lead for another song from the new album, Silly Me. I'm a big fan of Jacqui's voice, but there's no doubt that Rianne is an acomplished singer and she delivered this song excellently as well as providing a great foil to Paul's voice.

She won't be my favourite of Paul's singer partners, but she was very good, of that there's no doubt.

The fourth song was yet another surpise as the opening line "Fun, Fun, Fun" echoed out and we got the old Housemartins' hit 'Five Get Over Excited' - While this was a, belated, album release gig, we were obviously getting a good selection of classic Heaton as well.

The excellent 'H Into Hurt' from the new album was next, getting an especially appreciative reception, and then we had Bell Bottomed Tear (a less well known Beautiful South song) and then 'Small Boats' and the catchy 'Fish 'N' Chip Supper' provided contrasting themes from the new album.

The final six tracks were all back catalogue, much to the delight of the packed venue.

Paul sang 'I'll Sail This Ship Alone' almost acapella and did any excellent job in my view.

'Heatongrad' is an odd sort of song, in my view, very spikey and not everyone there will have agreed with the sentiment, but it was good to hear it played.

In contrast, I don't imagine anyone was anything but happy to hear 'Don't Marry Her', 'One Last Love Song', 'Happy Hour' (another delve back into the Housemartins catalogue) and to round out the night with the ever popular 'Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)' after a litle over an hour.

I suspect the delay between the album release ('This is usually where I ask if you've bought the new album, but you had to, to get in!' Paul quipped and then compared this kind of album marketing to 'Taking anabolic steroids for your egg and spoon race') and this gig meant there was less pressure to play the new tracks (It's a good album, btw!) and that allowed them to deliver a mini-greatest hits night which was hugely appreciated by everyone, I'm sure.

I certainly did and headed home happy to have made the journey out on a freezing early March night.

Setlist:
Just Another Family
Old Red Eyes Is Back (The Beautiful South song)
Silly Me
Five Get Over Excited (The Housemartins song)
H Into Hurt
Bell Bottomed Tear (The Beautiful South song)
Small Boats
Fish 'N' Chip Supper
I'll Sail This Ship Alone(The Beautiful South song)
Heatongrad (Paul Heaton + Jacqui Abbott song)
Don't Marry Her (The Beautiful South song) (followed by band introductions)
One Last Love Song (The Beautiful South song)
Happy Hour (The Housemartins song)
Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) (The Beautiful South song)

Ting Tings - Bush Hall, Shepherds Bush - 28th February 2025

I've always liked the Ting Tings, but had never seen them live.

I had a ticket for a gig in (I think) 2014 that was cancelled and they'd been so quiet over the last few years that the chances of seeing them seemed to have been filed under 'Missed'.

So, when I read there was a new album coming and a one-off gig to support the album was being held at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush, I got in quick and got a ticket.

I'd never seen Bush Hall and I was a bit skeptical about the gig happening at all, but the 28th February rolled around and all seemed well, so I drove up to Westfield to park and walked the half mile or so down to Bush Hall.

I hadn't planned to arrive especially early for 'doors open 7PM', but when I arrived, there was a small queue outside (at 7:15) around the corner in the road alongside the Hall. They opened the doors shortly afterwards and I made my way in, dropping my essential coat (it was cold, forecast to drop below zero later, outside) in a makeshift cloakroom and then walked into the main part of the hall.

The venue is, these days, rather like a large, ornate, village hall. The ceilings are high (there's a small bar with a balcony at the back on the first floor), but the floor space is modest, if not as tiny as somewhere like Aldershot's West End centre or The Boiler Room in Guildford.

The support act was a band called "Coco and The Lost" and when I'd done a quick search on YouTube I thought they sounded pretty good, so I was glad to be there in time for their set.

The band are Coco (presumably), a dark haired young woman and three young men. They were, Coco informed us, playing a stripped back acoustic set with limited instruments, but they were pretty good live and I'd be interested in hearing them in full band form sometime.

The sound was good, too, suggesting the room had good acoustics, which bode well for the main event.

After 30 minutes or so, Coco and The Lost departed the stage and the roadies took away their limited equipment leaving a considerable amount still on the stage.

The Ting Tings are Katie and Jules, that's all they've ever been, so the plethora of instruments and microphones was a bit of a surprise, but one thing you could always say about The Ting Tings was that they never stayed one thing and I already knew that the forthcoming album (their 5th) was taking a diversion into 'Yacht Rock', inspired, they said, by bands like Fleetwood Mac and Steeley Dan.

I did wonder if, perhaps, I'd find this change in style one I wouldn't enjoy, but there was only one way to know for sure and after waiting all this time and giving up hope of seeing them, I wasn't going to miss the chance to find out for myself.

Around 9PM the stage filled up with Katie and Jules initially to be joined by a female backing singer, a bass guitarist, another 2 guitarists, a man on keyboards, a drummer and another percussionist - The tiny stage was packed, this was not going to be a 'backing track' set, it seemed.

In their social media, The Ting Tings promised this would be a set of new songs and old favourites and so it proved, with a twist.

They started with the well known single "Great DJ", but it was definitely a version of the song, rather than a straight performance of the original version from their first album.

Importantly, though, they sounded good. The backing musicians were tight and the overall sound was powerful, even if the version of the song had a mellower sound than the familiar one.

The next 3 songs were all new ones (unless I've missed something).

"Song For Meadow", we were told by Katie, was inspired by meeting a young girl and "Good People Do Bad Things" proved to be a natural long term favourite on first listening, with a very Fleetwood Mac feel to it.

What has always impressed me about The Ting Tings is their ability to make a big sound from two people. On record that's easier to do with multi-tracking, but in this tiny venue, they managed to produce a 'stadium-rock' sound in an intimate setting, which struck me as both impressive and remarkable.

"Good Bye Song" and "Winning" were also new (I think) and sounded pretty good live and then we had a very different version of their iconic "Shut Up and Let Me Go", very slowed down and melodic, but actually, great!

The next couple were new songs and then we had a version of "We Walk", which again was different to the original, being more acoustic, but closer to the original than some of the older tracks.

"Danced on the Wire" was one of the first of the new songs released and followed by the old favourite, "Be The One".

New songs "Dreaming" and "Down" rounded out the main set nicely.

Of course, the audience bayed for an encore and, in case you should think they'd lost the ability to rock, they came back with a very true to the original rendition of "That's Not My Name" that pleased everyone!

I'd waited a long time to see The Ting Tings live and I can only say that it was a pleasure.

Maybe a little part of me regrets not seeing them in their earlier, louder, form, but even if I had I would have loved this gig.

As a comeback, it was triumphant!

Setlist:
Great DJ
Song For Meadow
Good People Do Bad Things
Good Bye Song
Winning
Shut Up and Let Me Go
In My Hand
Home
We Walk
Danced on the Wire
Be the One
Dreaming
Down
Encore:
That's Not My Name

Someone has posted this YouTube playlist of the gig.