THE LOVELESS

THE CASTLE & FALCON, BIRMINGHAM

SURPRISES APLENTY AS MARC ALMOND AND NEAL X CELEBRATE THEIR SHARED 60s AND 70s ROCK INFLUENCES ON A BLINK-AND-YOU’LL-MISS-IT MINI-TOUR OF SMALL VENUES

In a gap between summer dates with Soft Cell and his early 2024 continental solo appearances, Marc Almond’s somehow found time for a fleeting run of low-key dates that likely came as a genuine surprise to most casual fans.

Though not a name that’s particularly well-known, The Loveless have actually been kicking around, under the radar, for a while. Fronted by Almond and long-standing sideman

Neal X, they are joined by keyboard player James Beaumont (also from Marc’s solo band) plus Iggy Pop’s live rhythm section – drummer Mat Hector (whose CV also includes Thomas Dolby and Mike Garson) as well as bassist Ben Ellis. A limited edition eponymous mini-album sneaked out back in 2020, and there’s been other occasional live forays, but this small venue tour, which coincided with a full LP (Meet The Loveless came out in December 2023), finds the accomplished five-piece edging a little further out into the limelight.

While Almond’s fondness for Northern Soul, 60s balladry and torch songs is well documented, The Loveless gives him the opportunity to explore another set of rarely touched upon, but nonetheless important, pre-punk influences. Typically described as a garage rock outfit, The Loveless is a fond homage to down’n’dirty 60s psych and early 70s glam, as well as harder R&B.

Proceedings get underway with original song Wild In The Streets (think The Stooges, but with added brass) setting the pace, followed by The Yardbirds’ Putty (In Your Hands). Then it’s into Nuggets territory with the 13th Floor Elevators and The Music Machine, before Neal takes his 12-string for swooping Kinks outsider anthem I’m Not Like Everybody Else (“...which is true,” Marc smiles, acknowledging the title).

They continue to dig deeper with Hot Hard & Ready – a rockier take on a super obscure cut by cult US 70s queer duo, Smokey (whose small catalogue is filled with brazenly gay anthems) – while Hurt Me gives Marc the chance to max-out the drama, falling to his knees and ad-libbing as the band work up former

New York Doll Johnny Thunders’ acoustic strummer into a monster rock/Stax hybrid. He drops to the floor, pouring himself into the song, only arising as it subsides. “Okay! I’m done!” Marc laughs, exhausted, yet he’s far from ‘done’ with an Alice Cooper triple-bill keeping the temperature high.

Almond steps back to the side to let Neal blast into Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Love Missile F1-11, but returns to centre stage for a chunk of classic rock (Deep Purple’s sturdy Black Night), pure glam (T.Rex, The Sweet) and punchy Northern Soul belter, Freddie Scott’s I’ll Be Gone.

That should be the end of the set. But unable to leave the stage, the band jump into the encore.

“This is ‘a post-punk electronic classic,’ it probably wouldn’t be allowed today... but let’s do it!” Marc calls as the band dive into Soft Cell’s distinctly un-PC Sex Dwarf, concluding the night on a singalong high.

It’s an intimate, joyful and incendiary set that leaves everyone – on and off stage – breathless. Not bad for a side hustle.