Teenage Fanclub at the Tramway

Last night I added The Tramway to the list of Glasgow venues that I've seen Teenage Fanclub in. It's always a thrill when the band play somewhere different.

Ahead of the tour, Raymond McGinley said; "Following our most recent album Endless Arcade we did a UK / Europe tour in support of that. While it felt great to be properly back on the road again post-pandemic, we realised that for many of the venues we’d been playing those same places over and over for more than thirty years. We thought that next time we should try to do something a bit different. As part of that tour we played a couple of seated venues and enjoyed the experience. We got the feeling that the audience did too. So, for the tour this year in October and November we decided to put together a run of dates in seated venues, for the dual purpose of both playing shows in a theatre environment and in venues that are mostly places we haven’t played before. For both band and audience this tour should be an enjoyably novel experience.”

Raymond knows his fans!

And it was an extremely enjoyable experience. 

After a narrow escape on the train where I was heading to Pollockshaws East rather than Pollockshields East, I met my friend Lorna outside the venue shortly after doors opened. After grabbing a new mug and a beer, the doors to the theatre swung open and we headed in to nab good seats.

We opted for the end row 3, directly up from where Raymond was due to stand. It was great to see loads of people we knew around us, or on their way to seats. 

The venue had exposed brickwork to the sides and a huge screen behind the stage, which was pretty much floor level with the crowd then elevated above the band. I was immediately reminded of The Beatles playing in Twickenham Studios at the start of the Get Back documentary. That kind of vibe. It was like dropping in on a band rehearsal.

Sweet Baboo (Stephen Black) played a short acoustic set in support. Heartfelt stories were told to introduce several songs with Goodbye (about a neighbours dog he walked during lockdown) being a particular favourite of mine.

Black has stood in for Dave McGowan on bass a few times, so it was great that the band invited him out on tour. Baboo is promoting his latest album The Wreckage, that came out in early 2024. It's safe to say that his humour, melodies and storytelling won him new fans.

At 9pm Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Francis Macdonald, Dave McGowan, Euros Childs and Stephen Black strolled on to the stage. For the next 90-minutes, the six piece Fanclub delighted the crowd with songs from new album Nothing Lasts Forever and songs from across their career, culminating in set closer Everything Flows, their glorious debut single.

There were smiles and laughs - especially as one brave heckler shouted ELTON at Blake as he sat behind the piano for Self-Sedation. Blake took it in typical good form, joking he needed more elaborate glasses. And then when one brave soul jogged across the front of the band to go to the toilet it caused hysterics for Norman and Raymond - especially cause the guy was dressed like he was out for a run!

The sound was excellent throughout; guitars gelling, heavenly harmonies and all kinds of heart tugging moments. A double dose of Alcoholiday and Did I Say early on was worth the admission money alone, while Raymond's beautiful Only With You was an unexpected treat.

New songs - Tired Of Being Alone (set opener), Foreign Land, I Left A Light On, Falling Into The Sun, Self-Sedation and See The Light were all played, fitting effortlessly in alongside older cuts. There was an extra zip to them in a live setting, especially the first couple, the guitars sounded a little more raw and urgent.

I was gutted they didn't play album closer I Will Love You. I do hope that makes an appearance in the live set at some point. But then, with 30+ years of songs to choose from, you can't get everything!

I Don't Want Control Of You is always on the setlist and it always succeeds in lifting and moving me. I'm In Love is another song that has extra zip and zest in the live setting, while My Uptight Life was as poignant as ever.

Stephen Black played acoustic guitar, keyboard, percussion and saxaphone through the set. I thought his acoustic guitar in particular added a lot to some songs. Just that extra little layer.

Dave was super solid on bass, while Euros harmonising with Norman is a delight. 

Back In The Day is a recent favourite of mine and it sounded sublime in the encore, the chorus seemed to go on and on, the band looked like they were really enjoying it. 

Closing with Everything Flows, Teenage Fanclub left everyone feeling a warm glow that the band continue to radiate. I'll be back for more on Tuesday in Edinburgh.

I do like to stand with a beer at gigs, but do you know what, I loved this show. The Tramway was set up perfectly, can't have been a bad seat in the house.

Nothing Lasts Forever by Teenage Fanclub

I'm very glad that Teenage Fanclub have been in my life since 1991 when I discovered Bandwagonesque. Over 30-years! Nothing Lasts Forever of course, but the band are still here, still with me and still releasing music that fills me with a warm glow.

My love and appreciation for Teenage Fanclub grows stronger with every passing year. With every single, album and run of shows. With each anniversary of a classic album - happy forthcoming 30th birthday to Thirteen. With every new friend I make through a mutual love for the band - online or in person. 

Welcome to the world, Nothing Lasts Forever, the 12th Teenage Fanclub album. It is a beautiful album containing 10 songs of love, life, loss, hope and light. If Everything Arcade was reflective, then this new album is looking forward.

Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Francis Macdonald, Dave McGowan and Euros Childs seem to have the bit between their teeth. This is the second Fanclub album in a little over 2-years. We were previously used to/frustrated by an album every 5 or 6 years.

Of course Fanclub albums are always worth waiting for. Maybe even more so, as we all get older. Speaking of which, the passing of time is a theme throughout the album. 

Norman: “These songs are definitely personal. You’re getting older, you’re going into the cupboard getting the black suit out more often. Thoughts of mortality and the idea of the light must have been playing on our minds a lot. The songs on the last record were influenced by the breakup of my marriage. It was cathartic to write those songs. These new songs are reflective of how I’m feeling now, coming out of that period. They’re fairly optimistic, there’s an acceptance of a situation and all of the experience that comes with that acceptance. When we write, it’s a reflection of our lives, which are pretty ordinary. We’re not extraordinary people, and normal people get older. There’s a lot to write about in the mundane."

And so the album begins with Foreign Land Blake singing about time, the past and moving on. His heart beating brightly again after heartache and dark times. There is a delicious run on the bass by Dave before Raymond sets his guitar to stun on the instrumental section. 

It's time to move along

And leave the past behind me

My heart was like a stone

But now it's beating brightly

Official video - Foreign Land 

Raymond's up next with Tired Of Being Alone sounding wise and wistful. Is it just me, or does McGinley's voice sound more melancholic with age. Raymond's always had a knack for finding a hook/mantra to close some of his songs and this is a gem. 

Come with me, watch the seasons go

Summer nights with the sky aglow

Fallen leaves on the ground below

Let's walk outside in the falling snow

Official video - Tired Of Being Alone

Light is a theme that runs throughout the album, with the word featuring in 3 of the 10 song titles. I Left A Light On was the first single taken from Nothing Lasts Forever, away back in April 2022 to soundtrack a tour. The piano and strings really give it a lovely post Beatles Lennon solo type feel. Blake singing of a love spiraling out of control, of being lost, but leaving a light on. It's heartachingly beautiful.

Official video - I Left A Light On

Raymond: "We never talk about what were going to do before we start making a record. We don't plan much other than the nuts and bolts of where were going to record and when. That thing about light was completely accidental; we didn't realise that until we'd finished half the songs. The record feels reflective, and I think the more we do this thing, the more we become comfortable with going to that place of melancholy, feeling and expressing those feelings."

McGinley consistently urges listeners to See The Light, an early favourite of mine. There is a gentle saxaphone in the background and plenty of warm and chiming guitars. There is a brief pause before a gloriously playful guitar solo.

I don't need to roam

I go back home

To see the light

It's Alright is positive and uplifting, like Norman has just had a big blast of sunshine happiness. The lyric to the second verse highlights he is moving forward; take a step into the mystery. Euros tinkling keys come through on repeated listens. Blake goes on to sing it's looking clearer up ahead and Raymond's guitar solo really fizzes. There is a classic going to the country lyric; 

From city street

To country lane

Life is taking hold again

There'll be no need for worry now

It's alright

Falling Into The Sun starts with some fuzzy psychedelia sounds before bursting into life, Dave's bass sounds fantastic. The middle section before Raymond's guitar solo is unexpected and delightful, as is the guitar. 

There are echos of McCartney on the brilliant Self-Sedation. The freshness, the jaunty piano and the vocal melody. Blake delivers this beautiful line in the first verse; 

I wake up before the dawn to start my dreaming of you

The double chorus is superb and there is another brilliant lyric I picked up on; from a breakdown to a breakthrough while the instrumental is pure Macca.

Chiming guitar gently launches Middle Of My Mind, Raymond sounds super dreamy. If the album is largely about moving on, for the time being, McGinley is lost in his thoughts. 

Back To The Light sounded great as a single, it sounds even better as part of an album. Blake sings of finishing a gig and heading back to his love, highlighting his appreciation in the chorus and then throughout the rest of the song.

For you, you know I'd walk a country mile

Have your tissues ready for Raymond's beautiful I Will Love You that closes the album. The slow burning, near 2-minute, intro is beautifully dreamy, leading to McGinley singing about how his love will last through all that is wrong in the world. Until the end of time. Norman's harmonies on the chorus are gorgeous.

This is Teenage Fanclub at their best - heartfelt emotion, love and hope in the face of racisim, bigotry, pollution, capitalism ... the grim reality of modern day life. Love can help. Love can win.

I will love you

Until the sunlight decides to hide

I will love you

Until the planets collide

I will love you

Raymond: "In many ways, us-and-them-ism has taken over the world. I will love you is looking for positivity but its being totally fatalistic at the same time. This shit will exist forever, what are you going to do about it? I came up with the line I will love you/until the flags are put down/and the exceptionalists are buried under the ground while i was playing the guitar. I started wondering what that was all about and where it might go. It's looking for positives within a fatalistic, negative view of human nature."