Peter Perrett

London Islington Assembly Hall

Ultimate survivor’s serpentine genius shines again.

That Peter Perrett has survived decades of drug abuse and illness is one thing. That his comeback album and tour have been a master class in louche, languid rock and lyrical understatement is quite another. This isn’t just about cheering him for turning up; it’s a great, gritty and graceful show in itself. He’s sparing on material from his old band the Only Ones, confident that his new material radiates. So while we all sing along merrily with classic lines such as ‘I’m in love with extreme mental torture’, we also join in on recent zingers like ‘I’m still just about capable of one last defiant breath.’

Like a South London Leonard Cohen, Perrett was doing dryly ironic despair before it caught on, his knowing nasal sneer a potent vessel. His band now is largely a family affair, with his sons excelling on guitar and bass (The Only Ones guitarist John Perry is in the audience) and two young women on violins, keyboards and vocals adding a rich, dark Velvet Underground/ Television spin. Last year’s How The West Was Won features heavily, with Perrett – the day after Kanye West’s pro-Trump dribblings – cutting the Kim Kardashian name-check. The first encore ends with a perfect Another Girl, Another Planet; the second brings us The Beast.

He’s getting older and he knows he’s got something to prove. So he does. A fiesta of fatalism.