It’s here! At last! The first – and last – debut album from the one-and-only Barbara is everything we hoped for: old favourites, new triumphs, biting satire, great tunes and our favourite jacket!
Release Date: 5th September 2025
Label: Cherished Things!
Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital
BARBARA – OLD FRIENDS
They’re old friends of ours, of course – and it’s a friendship that has been cemented by the sheer force and quality of a seemingly endless torrent of great songs. Yes, Barbara are special – and we sensed that was the case when we stumbled upon the Brighton band’s 3rd single, Rainy Days in June, way back in those COVID-infested days of November 2021. Since then, Barbara have continued to assault our senses and every time the band come up with something new, they take a giant step forward.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, I’ll bring you up to speed. Barbara’s solar system rotates around the mercurial talents of brothers John and Henry Tydeman. John’s the lead vocalist and frontman and also plays keyboards and melodica. Brother and co-writer Henry plays keyboards and provides backing vocals. But the Barbara story doesn’t end there – the brothers are backed up by three guys who are each masters of their respective trades – Jack Hosgood (bass, acoustic guitar and backing vocals), Dean Llewellyn (electric and acoustic guitars) and drummer Lawrie Miller. Together they produce quirky, cleverly-crafted, lyrically-rich pop songs for the thinking person. If The Divine Comedy, Sparks, Dean Freidman, Stackridge or 10cc are your thing, you’ll love Barbara.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN CLAMORING FOR...
Barbara have been on quite a ride over the past four years. Prestigious support slots with The Divine Comedy, Haircut 100, Paul Weller and Kid Creole and the Coconuts have boosted the burgeoning number of Barbarettes and those aforementioned EPs – Mildly Entertaining (2022) and Happy Days! (2024) have paved the way for what we’ve REALLY been clamoring for…
…and here it is, at last! Released on the band’s own, newly inaugurated, label – Cherished Things! – the first (and last) DEBUT Barbara album is with us, and it’s a creamer. Recorded at Church Road Studio in Hove and at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio in Ripley, Surrey, it’s an irresistible mix of the familiar and the new, packed with trademark biting satire and great tunes – and all impeccably performed. And – you know what I find PARTICULARLY exciting? These ten tracks are just the tip of the Barbara iceberg; this debut is excellent, and we KNOW that there’s a whole shedload of Barbara equally enjoyable material waiting in the wings. For Barbara, this new album is but the beginning.
AN INSPIRED DECISION
We start on familiar territory, with March 2024 single, Mein Fräulein. Lawrie’s Professor Wallofski drumroll introduces a song loaded with 1930s Weimar imagery and wonderful references to glasses of German wine, Gauloises cigarettes, lederhosen and much more. Initiates to the Barbara cause will get the message straight away – Barbara are about FUN. And it was an inspired decision to open the album with one of the band’s very best songs!
An established favourite in the Barbara repertoire, These New Communications isn’t the only Barbara song to take a swipe at social media, and it makes that swipe discretely and effectively. Rax Behésti guests on guitar on a song that, to this writer at least, was one of the first to distinguish Barbara as a band of true originality.
THE CYNICISM BITES
Released just a couple of months ago, Tolerant Nation is Barbara’s most recent single. It’s one of the band’s more prog-leaning efforts and it’s a lyrical treasure trove. Barbara’s music often reminds me of 10cc and that’s particularly the case with this song. The cynicism in the lyrics bites as John delivers one of his best-ever vocal performances, Dean’s guitar solo is shiver-inducing and I love Jack’s funky bass passage.
The excellent Beryl is a newbie, and it’s a corker. It’s a song with a 70s disco rhythm and there’s a Ray Davies feel to the observational lyrics which, incidentally, are inspired by the work of the wonderful Beryl Cook, John’s favourite artist. And, when the Tydeman brothers harmonise, it’s vocal perfection.
THE THINGS THAT BARBARA DO BEST
A standout track from the Mildly Entertaining EP, A Perishing of Cherished Things has been re-recorded especially for the new album and the sound is richer, smoother and – somehow – cheekier. And the lyrics – which describe the convoluted relationship between writer Wendy, her husband Alan, and acquaintance Sharon, continue to delight.
It’s difficult to believe that it’s over a year since the bright, happy, Property Owing Democracy appeared as a single. Time flies in Barbara-land. The song builds satisfyingly and the stark lyrical message is coated thickly in a sweet, syrupy coating – that’s one of the things that Barbara do best.
REMIND YOU OF ANYONE?
Originally released whilst Barbara whizzed around the country making hoards of new friends on the 2023 Haircut 100 tour, Master Narrative is yet another Barbara gem. Musically, it represents a coalescence of Barbara influences – deliberate or accidental. The vocal inflections of Russell Mael and Freddie Mercury meet the lyrical jiggery-pokery of The Divine Comedy and 10cc. The lyrics are a poke at an unspecified public figure (”no-one specific,” insists John…) who’s a compulsive liar and whose principles are as shallow as his false smile. Remind you of anyone? It’s tight, and it’s polished and there’s yet another stunning Dean Llewellyn guitar solo to enjoy.
And, is that same public figure the subject of the equally uncompromising Pretty Straight Guy – another dose of cynicism wrapped in a candy coat? “There’s nothing you can think of will embarrass him,” sings John, and we all know someone who answers that description, don’t we?
CONTENTMENT v PARANOIA
Of the new songs on the album, The Contented Commuter is, perhaps, my pick of the bunch. A hilarious commentary on the drudgery of the working day, it’s a song with everything, including drama, a burst of rock ‘n’ roll as the boss diverts our homeward-bound commuter to the pub, and a – deliberate or otherwise – reference to The Travelling Wilburys during the song’s “(I love to) work on Mondays” coda. Contentment and paranoia vie for poll position and, as you’d expect, paranoia wins.
And, to close this excellent, long-awaited album, Barbara return to the live audience-pleasing BRB. The chimes, the keyboard ABBA references, the strident rhythms and the enigmatic lyrics combine to provide the perfect ending.
MIKE’S JACKET! AND TOUR NEWS!
Congratulations, Barbara – you’ve given us the album we dreamed of and we’re particularly thrilled that Lawrie has chosen to wear the jacket, donated by At The Barrier’s Mike Ainscoe, on the sleeve pics! Now – what about album No.2?
And there’s more Barbara treats in store very soon. John, Henry and the chaps are currently preparing to set off on their headlining UK tour, which kicks off on 18th September at Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Southampton. They then go on to perform at:
19th September: Ropetackle, Shoreham-on-Sea
20th September: West End Centre, Aldershot
21st September: Acapela, Cardiff
3rd October: Town Hall, Masham
9th October: The Cluny, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
13th October: East Riding Theatre, Beverley
16th October: Old Woolen, Leeds
A Barbara live show is a very special event indeed. If you’re looking for an electrifying experience, get along to a show – but be quick: the band’s growing fanbase will be snapping up tickets.
Re-live the Sooty Show! Enjoy the official video to Tolerant Nation, a track from the album, below:
Barbara online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / X / TikTok / Bandcamp
Keep up with At The Barrier: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube
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