Into Live Music Review: Friends Again/ Lloyd Cole
Celtic Connections is at its best when it brings people together for something that feels genuinely unique — and this event at the Old Fruitmarket did that in spades.
A band who released one album over 40 years ago, back together on stage and supported by a songwriter whose songs are woven into the fabric of Glasgow itself. It already felt like a musical gift to those present even, before a note was played.
Lloyd Cole was the unannounced ‘first act’, though the packed venue suggested the crowd knew exactly who might be playing. Indeed, when Friends Again broke news of the show, it was Lloyd himself who immediately suggested via X, if he could be the support, and on his birthday too! He explained he was a huge fan of the band and that he’d only play songs written when he stayed in Glasgow in the early eighties, a time perhaps when seeing and hearing the headline band influenced and shaped what was to come with the Commotions. From the opening notes of Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken, other classics from Rattlesnakes, choice cuts from Easy Pieces including Why I Love Country Music, to closing with Lost Weekend, it felt like a shared memory being passed around the room. The songs had an intimacy that rarely comes across in venues of this size, but there in lies the beauty of Lloyd Cole who seemed to enjoy the gig as much as the audience. It would have been enough on its own.
But then Friends Again appeared — and something magical happened.
Three original members, Chris Thomson, Paul McGeechan & James Grant, back together on stage. One album made when they were barely out of their teens, full of hope, colour and curiosity, the band flickered brightly but briefly before pursuing different musical paths. Playing as a six piece, the band were augmented by Douglas MacIntyre, Stuart Kidd & Rob McLaughlin on bass, drums and guitar respectively. The big question was never about ability — it was about feeling. Could they still capture that sunkissed sense of fun and adventure?
They could and they did. Instantly.
The opening bars of Lucky Star confirmed that. The song – bright, open and celebratory. Thomson prowled the stage, singing the songs he wrote all those years ago with the ease and wonderment of a consummate professional, finally at the realisation this was actually happening. Around him, the band were locked in and alive — a tight, funked-up rhythm section from MacIntyre and Kidd pulsed, elegant keyboard wizardry from McGeechan and the glorious twin-guitar blend from Grant and McLaughlin that felt both effortless and exhilarating. Imagine Thin Lizzy making an album on Postcard Records and you are halfway there.
And the songs… they just kept coming.
Sunkissed, Lullaby No. 2, Swallows in the Rain — every song greeted like an old pal. There wasn’t a lull, dip or a moment where attention wandered. They also managed to perform an enchanting cover of David Bowie’s Kooks, with Grant paying the song and artist due respect. There was even a brave (and semi-successful!) attempt to get the crowd singing the call and response harmony parts on Moon 3, before a thrilling run through one of the finest pop songs ever written, State of Art.
Grant’s guitar work deserves special mention — not showy, not nostalgic, just beautifully played. Fresh, melodic, and full of feeling. You could sense how much care had gone into bringing these songs back to life.
The closing stretch was pure joy. Honey at the Core with Lloyd Cole (and the audience) joining in on backing vocals — the past and present folding into each other — followed by a R&B dance-tastic version of the O’Jays Love Train that sent everyone out into the night smiling. Special mention must be made to the sound and light engineers who played their part in making this one of those “I was there” nights.
There are plenty of bands revisiting past glories these days, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But this wasn’t nostalgia. It was way much more. The band and their individual component parts bringing their experience, guile, honesty and perhaps even a little nervousness to deliver a show that was in the moment and that will live long in the memory.
Friends Again — and Lloyd Cole — reminded us that some songs don’t age. They wait.
And on this night in Glasgow, they came home.
Brian Davidson @weepeople1
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