When he comes out on stage, Luke Morley gives his thanks to the “maverick genius, Willie Dowling.”
Now, MV is biased – he’s been in three of our favourite bands after all – but Morley speaks the truth.
We’ve seen Willie and his chequered suit at least five times in the last year or two, and he’s always compelling and entertaining.
Here, playing with a two-piece band (not just his usual bass player Andy), there’s an air of Sparks about opener “I Killed My Imaginary Friend.”
The songs mean something. “Gravy Train” excoriates the political class on all sides, while “Long Drop Down” isn’t happy about Brexit, to put it mildly.
He’s a gifted storyteller too – “Sadie Goldman” is a beautiful example – but this is lyrically angry music for weird times.
“Rats In A Maze” is a new one that discusses how we dance to the billionaire’s tune, and “The Simpleton” sticks two fingers up at one of them: Donald Trump.
As he always does, he ends with The Grip’s “Vera Daydream,” as if to underline that he’s always been this good – and yes, he really does look like Jeff Lynne.
He even gives away a hat during the set that bears the legend: I Love Willie. Like Morley’s statement, it’s hard to disagree.
Luke Morley’s day had started badly. The tour van crashed “two minutes after it picked us up from rehearsal.” Things got better.
On stage, he just looks happy – and he’s fantastic at being there. This show is special though: the first night of his tour in support of second solo album Walking On Water.
Given how much of it he plays, it’s clear Morley really believes in the collection.
And well he might. When you listen to “See The Light,” the title track, or the wonderful rock ’n’ roll rush of “Snakeskin Parachute,” you’re reminded that he is one of the finest songwriters we’ve had in the last 40 years.
A man of almost pensionable age, Morley is perfectly placed to sing “Errol Flynn” – a song about ageing badly – straight from the heart. That said, he seems to be in a wonderful place himself. “Always A Saturday Night” is impossible to hear without smiling.
You might have heard of the band he’s in – the one he wrote all the songs for – and he’s even rearranged one of their tracks, “River Of Pain,” into a Bossa Nova groove. But this set is mostly about his solo work. “Gun To Your Head” and his magnificent celebration of life, “Natural High,” are both supremely well done.
He dips back to the debut solo record for the Kinks-flavoured “Killed By Cobain,” which is obviously from the heart and tinged with regret.
“Breathe” and a harmonica solo on “Watch The Sun Go Down” bring the shortish set to a close, but he returns with more Thunder: “Like A Satellite.” I’m sure I wasn’t the only one inwardly reminiscing about all the times we’d seen one of the great bands play.
His fine band – including Cats In Space man Dean Howard, the busiest bass player in the world Chris Childs, keys wizard Sam Tanner (who also played with Thunder), and new drummer Rhys Morgan – all get their chance to shine on “Go With The Flow.” (“We’re gonna fuck about for a bit, talk amongst yourselves,” jokes Morley.) And with that, they’re gone.
It might be understated, but Morley has always gone a little under the radar anyway. The fact is, Luke Morley is one of the finest we’ve had in decades.
LUKE MORLEY PICTURE. KEITH TRACY.
