Blancmange at The Leadmill

Off to Sheffield to see Blancmange playing at the Leadmill, which is a cracking venue. We’d booked a hotel near Abi’s halls of residence, only to find out that she was going to Manchester, this weekend. Still, it meant we got our steps in, walking to town :-)

We were there in time to see the support, which was Stephen Mallinder (once of Cabaret Voltaire), assisted on stage by latter-day electronic music legend, Benge. Sadly, it was a bit disappointing, although Benge’s drumming was commendable. In fact, that’s a skill I didn’t know he had.

However, the evening was wholly redeemed by Neil Arthur, who was on terrific form. His stage persona bears traces of David Byrne’s live wire stage presence, and he was in very fine voice. Supported by a couple of other musicians, he delivered an excellent set with energy and enthusiasm.

And it was a great selection of songs, drawing on some good choices from the eighties incarnation of the band, as well as a thoughtful selection of tracks from the many* albums that he’s released over the last eight years. All in all, it was a cracking gig. (And my thanks to his management for putting the Minx and me on the guest list, which they generously offered while we were arranging the interview.)

The only drawback as far as the venue goes is that there’s not much around there for after an event, so we popped into Sainsbury’s for some food - including, on a bizarre mutual whim, Pot Noodles - and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.

*Sixteen, in fact! Three as Fader (with Benge); one as Near Future (with Jez Bernholz), and twelve as Blancmange, including five volumes of his instrumental series ‘Nil By Mouth’.