Saturday, March 29 was an exciting and historic day on two counts for the vibrant city of Newcastle upon Tyne in northeast England. Three hundred thousand people had gathered on the streets to celebrate the soccer team’s parade of the trophy for winning a prestigious national cup competition. Meanwhile, 200 discerning but equally noisy and enthusiastic loyal music fans were packed into the atmospheric live venue, Cluny 2, to welcome the iconic Tyneside singer Ruth Lyon back home from her international tour. This journey had included appearances as far apart as Glastonbury and New York, the latter to collect the coveted global Danny Award in recognition of her unique talents.
Resplendent in attire befitting a fashion design graduate performing inside a Victorian building that was once a flax-spinning mill, Ruth also had a yarn or two up her sleeve. The banter and camaraderie started as soon as she appeared on stage. With a debut album due in a couple of months, the anticipation of songs from Poems & Non-Fiction was palpable.
The band opened with “Clown” from the Direct Debit To Vogue EP, a song which immediately captures that familiar emotion of anxiety about the past, present, and future which proves unbearable for Ruth: “Will I hit the ground when I come crashing down.” What stunned the audience immediately was the power and energy exuding from the stage which propelled Ruth towards one of her best live performances with a band.
The former Holy Moly & The Crackers drummer Tommy Arch is now her bass player and harmony vocalist with a rock star aura. The rhythm section has a new star, the dynamic and innovative percussionist Fran Knowles whose sensational drumming and technical acumen add a fourth dimension to the overall sound of the band. On keyboards, composer, producer, and sound designer Calum Howard brings his immense creativity, sensitivity and talents to the stage as he did when Ruth guested at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
Other songs from the Direct Debit collection included “Trouble,” “Stone,” and “Flood,” the latter with its priceless lyricism:
Call me anything you want, I don’t care What is a name but a rush of air? All I am is a bang of blood A bag of bones, and electric flood
When dreaming of her first LP Ruth wrote “Dust” as a single three years ago, a song about time and the people and things collected through life, cherished for a while but inevitably at some point, let go of. “I enjoy the way the beat ended up sounding like an old ticking clock so it sounds like a prelude.” Ruth possesses the gift of effortless transformation from one musical style and genre to another, incorporating high-octane blockbusters as well as her trademark intensely personal, reflective, poignant ballads.
The highly anticipated new songs started with “Books” during which Lyon turns a cosmic reckoning on herself, pleading, “Weigh me today and weigh me in again tomorrow/ rocks in my socks, balloons tied round my elbows.” Speaking earlier about the release of this as a single she explains, “I was imagining my life as series of poems and non-fiction (which life really is, if you think about it) that at times has felt unreadable, overwhelming, impenetrable, senseless, unreal – a collection that I’ll never have time to read. I filmed the video in my house – it’s my safe place, somewhere I can inhabit my inner life, somewhere I feel free to imagine and write, rather than read, my own story.”
Another album preview, “Wickerman”, also previously released as a single, has sumptuous introductory keys and musical textures courtesy of Calum and is underpinned by Fran’s captivating rhythm and intricate percussion. Lyon’s vocals reflect her vulnerability, sincerity and honesty as she reflects on her acceptance of loss, heartbreak and what it means to be human. Other tasters included “Hill,” “Perfect,” “Caesar,” and the poetry of “Confetti.”
A big and unexpected surprise was the inclusion of “Hospital Beds,” a reminder of Ruth’s lifelong mission as a formidable disability, accessibility and inclusion campaigner. She chose this song by Cold War Kids to record with Holy Moly because it was one of the first songs she learnt on piano, just after she was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 15. She has since become dependent on a wheelchair to get around. The song has obvious personal meaning for her.
“When I first heard the song, I cried. I think it was the first step in coming to terms with the fact I’d just been told I’d be stuck with a degenerative illness for the rest of my life. It’s an honest song, which I love. It makes no promises but it also comments on the randomness of being an ill person: the conversations you end up having, the people you end up meeting. Sometimes my disability can be a blessing and this song really captures that.” Not surprisingly, the audience response was highly emotional.
The finale, “Motormouth” from Nothing’s Perfect EP, brought the evening to a fitting climax – a day which had started with citywide celebrations ended on an ecstatic high note for those discerning and fortunate enough to be part of this sold out gig. All credit to the sound engineer Thomas Brown who created the perfect acoustic environment for such a memorable occasion.
Ruth Lyon doesn’t just perform, rather she creates an inspiring, experiential and contemporary musical landscape which is a testament to the power of her vulnerability, humour and strength. She leaves the audience feeling connected and empowered because they have shared something deeply personal together.
The words of the legendary American chanteuse Ella Fitzgerald spring to mind when reflecting on Ruth’s achievements:
Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.