Gig review: Martin McAloon of Prefab Sprout at Metronome

There’s a very good reason some of the nation’s major players have located their call centres in the North East. When you ring up in a fury because your broadband has been disconnected or you’re frustrated at your lacklustre mobile phone deal, hearing the lilting sing-song tones of a genial Geordie on the other end of the line seems to have some kind of Jedi mind trick-like pacifying qualities.

Now 62, and a longstanding Newcastle native, Martin McAloon is also in possession of this type of winning repartée which soothes and calms. The bass-player in much-cherished 1980s art-rock outfit, Prefab Sprout, McAloon has pushed himself front and centre to take the songs penned by his brother, Paddy, out on the road.

Performing over two sets with five classics guitars and a couple of amps for company, McAloon kicks off with Moving The River from the trio’s acclaimed Steve McQueen LP before swiftly slipping into the textured Looking For Atlantis followed by a request from a rowdy bloke in the first rows, the layered Technique, from the album Swoon.

A great anecdote about taking Martha Reeves home after finding her in a Newcastle pub nursing a Guinness causes much mirth before McAloon rounds off the first set with a stripped back version of the epic, When Love Breaks Down.

The second half sees Electric Cars flow into I Remember That and Nancy (Let Your Hair Down For Me) before McAloon leaves on a high with a quirky T-Rex-inspired rendition of The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll then Cars and Girls.

And while there is no doubt the sight of big brother and fellow missing band mate Wendy Smith up there with him to recreate that joyous sound would have been more preferable, this take on a much-loved cannon is worthy of staging. 

As he sweetly quipped mid-set, "My brother sure knew how to write".

Martin McAloon performed at Metronome on 7th November 2024.