Prefab Sprout first entered the UK singles chart in 1982. Whilst three albums have made it into the UK top ten over the intervening years, only one single did, despite songs such as ‘When Love Breaks Down’ being instantly recognisable. This perhaps points to a tenet of many such bands; you either love them or you’ve never heard of them. The Sprout’s fanbase could be said to be dwindling yet fiercely loyal, so much so that, since Paddy’s onset of ill health, it has fallen to Martin to carry the torch.
Martin has avoided playing live for a long time. The title of this tour, “40 Years: A Version” is a play on words relating to Martin’s aversion of playing live. The last Prefab Sprout tour was in 2000. However, in 2023 he tentatively pulled out a guitar and embarked on a solo tour, such was the demand, and perhaps his own need, to bring the legacy of Paddy’s songs to the world. As the bass player in the original band, lead guitar was not his strength, a point that he was very careful to remind the audience of at the time. In fact, every time he made a mistake, which was somewhat often back then, he would remind the audience that he really wasn’t a guitarist. Nor a singer.
Buoyed up by the feedback from that first tour, Martin is at it again, back with most of the same songs but with an upgraded skillset. A year’s practice and some significant live performance experience have definitely made a big difference - not only from his 2023 tour but also playing support to the UK tours for both Thompson Twins / Tom Bailey and Thomas Dolby both of which took Martin into much bigger venues and in front of a bigger and broader audience.
The feat of learning to play Paddy’s songs in just a year or two cannot be understated, the songs are as complex and interwoven musically as they are lyrically. At Birmingham’s MAC, Martin was noticeably more confident, more at ease with the audience and more proficient, technically, than in 2023. The self-effacing humour was largely gone, the nervous banter replaced with an easy rapport. Martin’s confidence has enabled him to carry off a few tricks with the material such as transposing keys, rearranging parts and adopting a variety of styles depending on the degree of vocal dexterity required by the original composition. ‘Nightingales’ came with something borrowed from Burt Bacharach, ‘Don’t Sing’ in the style of Ennio Morricone with a bit of audience participation; car keys jangled en masse as makeshift percussion. The overall effect was that Martin was more in control and more willing to make the songs his own rather than trying to directly fill Paddy’s shoes.
The intimate setting was perfect for such an event, more like a poetry reading or the opening of an art exhibition than a rock concert. The audience shifted from hushed reverence to outright joy as Martin sauntered through favourites such as ‘Faron Young’, ‘Cowboy Dreams’, ‘Nightingales’, ending the first half with the best known ‘When Love Breaks Down’. A break for refreshment was followed by a longer set, featuring ‘The Sound of Crying’, ‘Cruel’, ‘Cue Fanfare’, ‘Appetite’ and leading into the finale without any contrivance of an encore. Songs were interspersed with commentaries, stories and other interesting diversions and at one point he even asked the audience to shout out suggestions for requests, all of which he played.
Now, it’s hard to tell what was happening here. Martin’s warm and charming demeanour suggest a genuine desire to serve the audience, however it could also have been an opportunity to show just how much of Prefab Sprout’s catalogue he has mastered. It could also have been the magician’s force, the illusion of a free choice when in fact anyone would have shouted out the same songs. One request, ‘I Never Play Basketball Now’ from the album ‘Swoon’ is so obscure as to make the force unlikely, so much so that he did offer a jovial insult to the person making the suggestion. Having given the impression that ‘Basketball’ was beyond his reach, he then delivered an excellent version of it. Perhaps this was the secondary meaning behind the title of the tour, that these were no longer just Prefab Sprout songs, these were somehow now Martin’s songs.
The final crescendo of the evening was as expected; ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Bonny’, ‘Goodbye Lucille #1 (Johnny Johnny)’ and ‘Cars and Girls’. A brief ‘thank you’ and a wave and he was off - but not for long. A few minutes later, he appeared at his own merch stand, credit card reader in hand and a ready smile and warm conversation for the fans who gathered to share their praise.
All in all, a masterclass in perseverance and a testament to what can be achieved with timeless source material and the support of a loyal following. Well worth a night out for anyone interested in the essential craft of song writing.
Martin McAloon’s UK tour runs until 15th December 2024.
Peter Freeth
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Images: Peter Freeth
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