Barbara, At The Barrier’s favourite fop-poppers are back on the road, with a host of newly-converted followers eager to be pleased. We were at Barnoldswick’s excellent, bijou, Music & Arts Centre to see Barbara work their special magic.

A SMALL – BUT PERFECTLY-FORMED – VENUE

It’s becoming a regular drop-in venue of ours. Just a couple of weeks ago, we braved the vagaries of the east Lancashire road and motorway network to catch the legendary Albert Lee at Barnoldswick‘s tiny – but perfectly-formed – Music & Arts Centre and, on the evening of Friday 15th November, we were back there again; and, this time, the star attraction was none other than At The Barrier’s favourite fop-poppers, the one-and-only Barbara.

Located in the cellar – perhaps ‘undercroft’ might be a more fitting word – of McCullough’s Irish Bar and Restaurant, in the centre of the small town, the Music & Arts Centre is a truly wonderful venue. The room’s capacity of just 60 doesn’t sound much, but when 60 people are crammed into a space that isn’t much bigger than a K9 telephone box, and Barbara are providing the entertainment, that’s a combination that makes for a pretty intense atmosphere and the sweaty, vibrant gig experience that you probably thought had gone for good.

Proprietor Peter Barton runs a tight ship and has a novel system for guaranteeing that everyone gets their space in the tiny room; what’s more, the beer is excellent, very competitively priced and the home-made pies are to die for. If you have occasion to pass though Barnoldswick (it’s pronounced ‘Barlick,’ by the way…) you really must pop in and check out what they’re up to.

2024 – A GLORIOUS YEAR IN CAMP BARBARA

2024 is almost over now, and it’s been a glorious year in camp Barbara. A year that got off to a racing start with a memorable Bonanza in the company of their Brighton co-residents, The Brighton Beach boys at the Latest Music Bar in Brighton’s Kemp Town. Things then went into hyperdrive in the spring, when the guys took-off on a sell-out 14-date tour supporting Paul Weller as The Modfather launched his new 66 album.

Add to that live activity a string of excellent singles and, in June, the release of Happy Days! – the second Barbara mini-album – and it’s clear to see; 2024 has been a landmark year for our friends Barbara. and – spoiler alert – 2025 is shaping up to be equally momentous. Watch these pages for news of more Barbara activity as it breaks.

But – back to the matter in hand. We’ve often remarked that Barbara are a band that seem to improve with every single they release and with every gig they play. And that’s a trend that shows no signs yet of abating. In Barnoldswick, Barbara were on fire. Their tramps around the country with Mr Weller, and, previously, with Haircut 100 and The Divine Comedy have paid off and a goodly proportion of the audience at Friday’s show were recently-converted fans that Barbara had picked up on those tours. And, from the comments that I received from several punters, it’s clear that those new fans are on board the Barbara Bus for the long-haul.

MAKING GOOD USE OF THE LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE

A call of “Are you ready to be entertained?” from frontman John Tydeman, followed by a cry of “Ten-shun” and a crisp drumroll from sticksman Lawrie Miller, and the show was up and running, with a stonking version of Mein Fräulein, the opening track of the Happy Days EP. John, clad in a luxurious retro velvet jacket, held centre-stage, posing for photos from phones in the packed room; brother Henry – his signature tank-top eschewed in favour of a checked shirt, maintained a quieter presence behind his keyboard, whilst drummer Lawrie, guitarist Dean Llewellyn and bassist Jack Hosgood all made use of what limited space they had available to add to the visual spectacle.

here we go…

Mein Fräulein is an inspired choice of set-opener; it’s a vibrant song that places band and audience right there on the same page and ready for the treats in store, the next of which was “old favourite” These New Communications, with Dean chipping in with the first of many awesomely precise guitar solos that we’d be enjoying during the course of the evening. John’s velvet jacket came off (it was warm down there in the undercroft…) to reveal the same snazzy cream shirt/green sleeveless pullover combo that I got for Christmas from my Auntie Lucy in 1975, as Barbara burst into Pretty Straight Guy and it was wonderful to see how many of the audience – most of them, in fact – knew the song and were clapping and singing along.

Master Narrative, the band’s November 2023 single and another track from Happy Days! was performed with absolute precision, as John took a walk into the audience and around the bar area; at one stage, he even shifted the pile of vintage paperbacks (that included Enid Blyton’s Island of Adventure and a Richmal Crompton William book) that had been placed by Henry’s keyboard, saying “I need more room – I feel a bit restricted.” It was that kind of evening.

NEW SONGS…

It’s not even out yet, but imminent single, Little Bird Sing, had an early airing at Barlick (it’s released on Friday 22nd November – our review is in the pipeline…). “We can make the intro last as long as we desire,” joked John as the audience responded to the song’s stomping rhythm. By the sound of it, it’s yet another Barbara classic, part pastoral, part heavy rock and awash with references to prime-time Queen. the song’s lyrics are packed with 1940s wartime imagery – including tape over windows – and Dean contributes another one of his mind-boggling guitar solos.

I was struck by the resonance of Henry’s piano sound as he introduced Rainy Days in June – now a venerable staple of the Barbara canon – before Barbara brought the first half of the show to a close with another brilliant new song, Contented Commuter. This time, it’s a rock and roller of a song, with very English, Ray Davies-styled lyrics and I love the ghostly howls that Henry (I assume – they seemed to be coming from his direction) generates from his keyboard. This is a song that is surely destined to be a live show favourite with its Rolling Stones vibe (John is, of course, a convincing Jaggerette) a tune that references Rattled by The Travelling Wilburys and an opportunity – grasped enthusiastically by the Barlick audience – to sing along.

TRY A BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIE…

John complimented the venue on the quality of its butternut squash pies before kicking off the second half of the show with the deliciously vaudeville Grandad, another song that’s recently become a Barbara live show standard. Audience participation is a major feature of a Barbara show and the audience were asked to click their fingers to Grandad, before being asked to “Give your neighbour a peck on the cheek” (a request which, I’m happy to report, the lady from Glossop, in the next seat to mine complied with…) by way of introducing Enduring Love. As usual, John played his melodica and Henry gave his keyboard a stout hammering and I found myself pondering, not for the first time at a Barbara show, how long it will be before entire multi-tier theatres are swaying along to this song just as the Glossop couple next to me were doing tonight.

crushing realities

Introduced as being “About the crushing realities of living in London-by-the-sea (or should I say ‘Brighton,’)” Property-Owning Democracy, the band’s most recent single, was followed by a barnstorming Waiting Outside Alone, during which John took another foray into the packed audience. During the introductions of the band, bassist Jack was introduced by John as “Barlick’s own…” – an announcement that seemed to surprise Jack as much as it surprised the Barnoldswick natives amongst the audience – and John was introduced as “a baddie wrestler.” We all got the message – the show was coming to its close. But there were still a few gems to go, as well as a couple of pleasant surprises…

I was enraptured by the new songs that Barbara have added to their repertoire, and I’m looking forward fondly to the day when those new songs appear on vinyl, but it’s always good to be reminded that the old favourites are corkers, too, and that’s a message that Barbara drove firmly home as they closed their set with outstanding versions of Don’t Send Me Messages and A Perishing of Cherished Things, a pair of great songs from the band’s debut Mildly Entertaining EP.

BETWEEN TWO BOOKENDS

And then came the very welcome surprise. Barbara have frequently embellished their headlining sets with an interlude in which John and Henry perform well-known songs a duet (and, if you haven’t yet heard the pair perform their version of the Oasis song, Slide Away, that’s an omission that you need to correct, right now). They’ve christened such interludes as Between Two Bookends and, for this tour, they’ve been using the interlude to pay tribute to the bands that they’ve recently supported on tour.

First up was a stunning take of Paul Weller’s All The Pictures On The Wall, a song from Paul’s 1993 Wild Wood album. The brothers’ vocal harmonies were spot-on and the soothing, pared-back accompaniment – piano and melodica – captured the mood in the room perfectly. It was more of the same for a version of The Divine Comedy’s National Express, a song that John and Henry (and the audience) delivered with real commitment, before the short interlude was completed with a folky rendition of Love Plus One, Haircut 100’s 1982 smash hit single.

I WAS THERE…

Henry continued to play the Love Plus One coda as Dean, Jack and Lawrie returned to the stage, this time for the final “Goodbye” with a blast through traditional set-closer, BRB. The Abba licks are still present and correct on a song that’s always guaranteed to bring an excellent evening to a joyous conclusion. I was left to reflect that, in a tiny cellar in remotest East Lancashire, Barbara had delivered the finest performance I’d seen so far from them. I sense that, one day, in the not-too-distant future, the lucky 59 who were also at Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre on Friday 15th November 2024, will be able to say to their envious friends: “I was there that night.”

Barbara came a long way in 2024. There’s still so much further for them to go. 2025 promises to be another great year in the Barbara calendar. Sail on Barbara!

Relive the Barbara ‘Between Two Bookends’ experience: Watch John and Henry Tydeman perform their version of Paul Weller’s All The Pictures on the Wall here:

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