Friday 4th October 2024
At his best, Badly Drawn Boy is probably the UK’s closest answer to Elliot Smith. His soulful and wistful lyrics combined with often mournful and yearning acoustic guitar have a timeless quality that ensures that the Manchester-based singer-songwriter never goes out of style. I caught up with him supporting Squeeze at Sheffield City Hall (full review for their show can be found here).
Badly Drawn Boy (real name Damon Gough) shuffles on stage with a characteristic lack of fanfare and his trademark beanie hat before breaking almost apologetically into ‘This is That New Song’. Gough is clearly nervous, but this, combined with the fragility of his songs only makes his performance more endearing. He introduces every song with a brief description of meaning or the inspiration behind the song and his low-key style makes it impossible not to root for him. The occasional bum note or false start only gets the crowd on side more, not to mention the fact that he has to constantly ask what time it is between songs to ensure he’s not going to get kicked off stage.
Gough’s seminal debut album The Hour of the Bewilderbeast is represented early on with ‘Stone on the Water’ and an exquisite rendition of ‘The Shining’ inside the first five songs, with the About a Boy soundtrack also called upon in the shape of ‘A Minor Incident’. Despite being the support act, Gough ignores some of his biggest hits (‘About a Boy’, ‘Something to Talk About’, ‘You Were Right’) in favour of early demo ‘Walkman’ and a cover of Richie Havens’ ‘I Can’t Make it Anymore’. Somehow, he makes it work, however. The big songs are never really missed because what Gough does deliver is so accomplished.
He does end the set with a trio of bangers, however. ‘Silent Sigh’ is a beautiful song and it sounds even more affecting with just Gough and a piano, before ‘Born in the U.K.’ – Gough’s take on his beloved Bruce Springsteen – leads into a joyous run-through of ‘Once Around the Block’ complete with a guitar pedal malfunction that sees Gough quip that he’s forgotten everything Ed Sheerhan taught him at guitar pedal class.
There is a quiet sadness and vulnerability about Badly Drawn Boy that really lends itself to a crowd setting. There are moments here where you can hear a pin drop, a rarity for a support act, and a testament to Gough’s abilities as a live performer . It’s a great set from one of Britain’s most underrated songwriters.