THE HUMAN LEAGUE + MARC ALMOND + TOYAH + A THOUSAND MAD THINGS + SPELLBOUND – BRIGHTON BEACH 23.7.25
It’s Day Four of Seven of the very popular ‘On The Beach’ series of open air concerts on Brighton Beach. Day One’s event was headlined by Bonobo with a half dozen other artists sharing the bill – Read our account HERE, Day Two’s event was headlined by Eric Prydz also with a half dozen other artists sharing the bill – Read our account HERE and Day Three’s event was headlined by Bloc Party with a handful of other artists sharing the bill – Read our review HERE.
Today’s event is the only mid-week show of this year’s ‘On The Beach’ and so it was a later start than the others, but the great British weather with its thunderstorm threats ensured an even later start and so the opening set from Spellbound DJ’s Simon Price and Jayney BlamBlam was knocked on the head and the first live music performance was delayed from 5:00pm to 5:30pm. Given the green light, the festival doors swung open and the eager (but wet) punters started filing in and walking along Brighton’s beach-stones to get to the stage area, and the scene was set….
First up, almost immediately, was unknown new act A Thousand Mad Things, followed the Spellbound DJ’s with the first of their crowd-warming sets, then came a live set from Toyah and her band, with another Spellbound set after this, and then it was the turn of Marc Almond of Soft Cell fame, with the final Spellbound set following on from this, which led onto a headlining appearance by The Human League. So in reverse order, here’s our account….
The Human League: 21:15-22:30
Little did I know that back on Tuesday 6th November 1979, when my musical journey with The Human League began, that I would find myself here on Brighton Beach more than 45 years later and lapping up everything that evergreen Phil Oakey and his chums had to offer. That night I watched the then relatively unknown original line-up perform ‘The Path Of Least Resistance’ from their debut ‘Reproduction’ album on a short-lived TV show called ‘Mainstream’. Long-story short, several records purchased by yours truly; Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware leave to form Heaven 17 and Phil goes clubbing and recruits Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall and Philip Adrian Wright is still in the band; they call on the services of producer Martin Rushent and the make the epic ‘Dare’ album and go stratospheric and the rest as they say is history!
It’s no wonder that still to this very day The Human League are able to pack ‘em in, as they are a very polished machine and without fail deliver on every occasion and so the punters keep coming back, and sometimes with the next generation in their families, and so the legacy goes on. The previous local appearance was at a fully packed Brighton Centre last December, (Review HERE) where fans were rewarded with 20 song headline set. Today we receive 15 tracks as it’s a festival with relatively tighter timings, thus notable omissions from the previous encounter included the aforementioned ‘The Path Of Least Resistance’ and ‘Empire State Human’ both from 1979’s ‘Reproduction’ album, as well as 1984’s ‘Life On Your Own’ which is found on the ‘Hysteria’ album. But we do actually get two absolute belters that weren’t given an airing last time out, which more than makes up for this.
Four minutes late, at 9:19pm, the sextet of Phil Oakey, Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall (all vocals), along with Rob Barton (electronic percussion aka drums), Ben Smith (keyboards, backing vocals), and Nick Banks (keyboards, guitar), take to the stage, musicians first then the vocalists. I’m guessing that David Beevers on programming is somewhere at the side of the stage as well. They start as they mean to go on with the epic ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ which is the first of a handful of tunes culled from that ‘Dare’ album. Like all 15 tunes, they remain relatively true to the cherished original releases, which is exactly what the punters demand as they merrily sing-along. The stage set isn’t quite as dramatic as their own live shows, but the inclusion of the giant rear screen which shows razor-sharp graphics throughout, perfectly compliments the music and adds to the overall enjoyment experience, as does the two giant live-screen panels at either side of the stage, which, courtesy of roaming cameramen, offers us close-ups of the band as well as folk in the crowd who are having fun, which Susan topically mentions mid-set. The sound is crisp and thankfully the rain is a distant memory.
Both Ben and Nick are able to be part of the action this evening as their keyboards are portable keytars which always look seriously cool, and those deep base notes emanating from Nick’s keys are pure joy. As is Rob’s Roland electronic drum kit, which is bright white, to match other other lads equipment, and the electronic pulses that he sometimes plays (especially on the next tune) directly remind me of the criminally underrated hard CORPS band.
Tune two is their 1982 ‘Mirror Man’ single and it’s already becoming very clear that Phil in his wraparound shades is not going to leave an inch of the stage undiscovered, as he briskly strides from side-to-side delivering his lines. When he is centre-stage he is, as always, flanked by blond-haired Susan (stage right, our left) and dark-haired Joanne (stage left, our right). Prior to commencing with the next song, Phil takes his shades off and informs us that previous band member Jo Callis is in attendance this evening, and that he (Jo) and Eugene Reynolds wrote the next song, which is ‘Heart Like A Wheel’ from 1990’s ‘Romantic?’ album, and it’s one of eight songs that Jo wrote for the band. Both Jo and Eugene are known as Rezillos band members, with Eugene still on the case these days. Whilst we are on this subject, the first time I saw The Human League live was at Brighton Dome on 11th December 1981 and they ended that 16 tune set with ‘Destination Venus’ which was a Rezillos tune!
Selection four is the second cut from ‘Dare’, this being ‘Open Your Heart’, which is received rather well by the crowd. After this Phil discards his jacket, which is one of several costume changes from him. The girls aren’t outdone either and with each new costume unveiling everything appears fresh and exciting. The slower ‘Louise’ from 1984’s ‘Hysteria’ album is up next and is for myself the weakest song of the set, if there is such a thing in a Human League concert. The beats pick up again with the arrival of ‘Soundtrack To A Generation’ which is from their 1990 ‘Romantic?’ album. Interestingly as it starts, the song reminds me of ‘Beat Dis’ by Bomb The Bass from three years previous, which I haven’t ever noticed before, I guess it’s this slight live reworking.
The girls whiz off stage for a change and Phil is on the case with ‘Seconds’ which is another from ‘Dare’ and Rob’s percussion is immense here, so much so that my body tingles, and I suddenly realise that I’m listening to the best song of the whole day for me that is. On its last note the band immediately lead into ‘The Lebanon’ (from ‘Hysteria’) which is another really solid number and Nick takes advantage of the songs heavier sound by switching to guitar. After this Susan addresses the crowd “We come here a lot and we like a lot. Thank you for supporting live music”. She then takes the vocal lead on ‘One Man In My Heart’ from 1995’s ‘Octopus’ album, which I notice is a big hit with several of the ladies in the crowd that are standing near me at the front. Ben assists with backing vocals on this tune.
The Human League have such a substantial back catalogue which is littered with pure quality material, that it can be almost impossible to choose their best ever composition, but if I was really pushed to choose just one, then I would have to plump for ‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’ from ‘Dare’, and I’m guessing by the many deep exhale of breaths from folk around me whilst the opening notes ring out across the beach, that I’m not alone, as it’s the next tune, and not surprisingly I get more tingles! This is followed by the solid ‘Tell Me When’ earworm which is found on 1995’s ‘Octopus’ album and was the band’s first Top 10 single in 8 years, so no wonder it still gets played. 1983’s ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ single was performed next, which brought a memory back as when I purchased it on its day of release, (as I did with many Human League records), I hadn’t actually heard it, and I can recall first putting it on the player only to immediately take it off again and examine the disc to see if if was pressed correctly and that the hole was dead-centre, as the electronic sound to my ears was wobbly and off, and yet it was meant to be like this. Surely I can’t be the only person that ever thought this?
Band introductions done, including David off-stage to our right, and a costume change sorted, they commence with their biggest hit ‘Don’t You Want Me’, the final selection from ‘Dare’, which has a long instrumental introduction which sees just the three players on stage and the audience singing all the lyrics, that is before the trio of vocalist return in order to take over. Obviously it’s the last song of the main set, and aimed at leaving us on a high, in order to shout for some more. We are rewarded with two more cuts, the first being 1978’s ‘Being Boiled’ which began with Nick’s deep base keytar synth notes and then Phil appearing at the rear of the stage in new clothes and amusingly omitting its first line “Listen to the voice of Buddha”, which on completing the song he jokingly notes that he knew he had forgotten something. The backing graphics were at their very best during this song. They signed off with “a Giorgio Moroder song”, this being The Human League adopted ‘Together In Electric Dreams’ from the ‘Electric Dreams’ soundtrack album by Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. It’s 10:23pm and that’s it for the evening, a 64 minute no-filler all killer set. Their 2024 concert was my fourth best gig of the year out of all of the concerts I went to, and this is currently there or thereabouts, but we are only half way through the year! It’s been a brilliant year for live music thus, far and long may it continue!
The Human League:
Phil Oakey – vocals
Susan Ann Sulley – vocals
Joanne Catherall – vocals
David Beevers – programming
Rob Barton – electronic percussion
Ben Smith – keyboards, backing vocals
Nick Banks – keyboards, guitar
The Human League setlist:
‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ (from 1981 ‘Dare’ album)
‘Mirror Man’ (from 1982 ‘Mirror Man’ single and 1983 US import ‘Fascination!’ mini-album)
‘Heart Like A Wheel’ (from 1990 ‘Romantic?’ album)
‘Open Your Heart’ (from 1981 ‘Dare’ album)
‘Louise’ (from 1984 ‘Hysteria’ album)
‘Soundtrack To A Generation’ (from 1990 ‘Romantic?’ album)
‘Seconds’ (from 1981 ‘Dare’ album)
‘The Lebanon’ (from 1984 ‘Hysteria’ album)
‘One Man In My Heart’ (from 1995 ‘Octopus’ album)
‘Love Action (I Believe In Love)’ (from 1981 ‘Dare’ album)
‘Tell Me When’ (from 1995 ‘Octopus’ album)
‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ (from 1983 ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’ single and 1983 US import ‘Fascination!’ mini-album)
‘Don’t You Want Me’ (from 1981 ‘Dare’ album)
(encore)
‘Being Boiled’ (from 1978 ‘Being Boiled’ / ‘Circus Of Death’ single & 1980 ‘Travelogue’ album
‘Together In Electric Dreams’ (from 1984 ‘Electric Dreams’ soundtrack album by Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder and 1985 ‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ album)
The Spellbound DJ’s were certainly on the case by now with their third brief stint of the day and arguably their best and most animated. Highlights of the laptop duos set this time around were ‘Ricky’s Hand’ by Fad Gadget, ‘Warm Leatherette’ by The Normal (aka Daniel Miller) and ‘Underpants’ (sic) by John Foxx.
It was now time for the legendary Southport born synth-cabaret-gay-icon Marc Almond and his chums to grace us with their presence. He certainly is a versatile fellow and today is performing a totally different set than the one he did at Brighton Dome on 11th September last year, which included a full on fight with security and the police being called – Read the review HERE.
As far as I can recall my first encounter with Marc was back in January 1981, when I snapped up the newly released cassette version of Stevo’s 12 track ‘Some Bizarre Album’ compilation, which certainly was finger on the pulse as it included a song by Marc’s band Soft Cell as well as first or early recordings by Depeche Mode, Blancmange, The The, and B-Movie. The Soft Cell tune being ‘The Girl With The Patent Leather Face’, and six months later on 17th July they released their cover of ‘Tainted Love’ and their ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album was launched on 27th November 1981. The duo of Peter Mark Almond (OBE) and David Ball had hit the big time, although initially they called it a day by 1984 and then Marc went solo and further success came his way….you can’t keep talent down! He is a versatile fellow who has taken on chart topping pop, cutting-edge electronica, torch songs, orchestral ballads, French chansons, historical song-cycles, jazz, flamenco, Russian folk and much more.
Although today’s set is billed as Marc Almond, I was extremely pleased to accidentally spy a copy of the setlist before it got to the stage! We were all going to be in with a real treat. Obviously Marc is a clever fellow and surrounds himself with some of the best musicians in the business. Thus today he is joined on stage by Neal X of Sigue Sigue Sputnik fame on electric guitar and backing vocals, Neal is also in Marc’s other band The Loveless with Ben Ellis, Mat Hector, James Beaumont who are special guests of The Damned on their 50th anniversary show at Wembley Arena on 11th April next year: Tickets HERE. Also accompanying Marc today are Phil ‘Polecat’ Bloomberg (bass guitar), Martin Watkins (keyboards), Tim Weller (drums), Bryan Chambers (backing vocals) and Worthing area based Kelly Barnes (backing vocals).
We are rather fortunate as the sun has come out and shines the greatest during this set, which goes a long way to drying us all out. We are given 11 songs across the 47 minute set, which commenced at 7:37pm and ran until 8:24pm. They commence with the upbeat ‘Adored And Explored’ from Marc’s 1996 ‘Fantastic Star’ solo album, and I swear that Marc has uncharacteristically got a real bounce in his step today and even does a skip across the stage, which is more than he did during his Brighton gig last year and the Soft Cell performance at Hammersmith Apollo on 15th November 2021 – Review HERE. It’s a promising start and the mini Korg and Yamaha S90XS keys sounding great. ‘Tears Run Rings’ from Marc’s 1998’s ‘The Stars We Are’ album is certainly delivered with aplomb and Marc truly belts out the notes. I’d actually go so far as to say he’s on fire today! Is it the sea air I wonder?.
The intensity is taken back a notch with the arrival of ‘My Hand Over My Heart’ from his popular ‘Tenement Symphony’ album from 1991. There’s an immediate upturn on the first distinctive notes of Soft Cell’s 1982 ‘Torch’ single, which certainly causes a ripple throughout the crowd, in the fact that he and his band are recreating a synthpop classic, and the video screen is called into play as well. Things got even better (if that’s possible) with the performance of a favoured cut from Soft Cell’s ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album, in the form of ‘Bedsitter’, with hundreds of folk merrily singing away.
A quartet of covers followed, but ones in which Marc has very much made his own! The first of these being Gene Pitney’s ‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’ which Marc released in 1988 ‘The Stars We Are’ on his album. This was immensely popular with the punters and there was copious amounts of arm waving from side to side, which seems to invigorate Marc even more! The second cover was the horse-trotting beat of David McWilliams’ ‘The Days Of Pearly Spencer’ which Marc recorded on his ‘Tenement Symphony’ long-player. The third homage was from the same album and this was the absolutely brilliant rendition of Jacques Brel’s ‘Jacky’, a tune that I used to sing in the office at some volume at the time of its release! The covers quartet concluded only one way with the “bleep bleep” of Gloria Jones’ ‘Tainted Love’ which Soft Cell famously sent to No.1 in 1981. I wasn’t the only one merrily singing along to this one, and let’s face it anyone that didn’t must have felt truly embarrassed!
Their penultimate selection witnessed Marc removing his sunglasses for the first time and unveiling another Soft Cell number. This time it’s the mega-arm-waving ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ from ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ and it is stunning to think that this stalled at No.3 in the charts as did ‘What’ in the same year. I’m probably going against the grain here but for me ‘What’ is the best thing Marc has ever recorded and the fascinating thing about this is that this too is a cover number. This one was penned in 1965 by H. B. Barnum and performed by Melinda Marx who was the daughter of Groucho Marx…No I didn’t make it up! They sign off with another cover, that I don’t think he’s actually recorded…yet! This is the classic 1971 T. Rex ‘Hot Love’ single, which very much sits within Neal X territory and a great way to sign off a successful performance.
Marc Almond:
Marc Almond – vocals
Neal X – electric guitar, backing vocals
Phil ‘Polecat’ Bloomberg – bass guitar
Martin Watkins – keyboards
Tim Weller – drums
Bryan Chambers – backing vocals
Kelly Barnes – backing vocals
Marc Almond setlist:
‘Adored And Explored’ (from 1996 ‘Fantastic Star’ album)
‘Tears Run Rings’ (from 1998 ‘The Stars We Are’ album)
‘My Hand Over My Heart’ (from 1991 ‘Tenement Symphony’ album)
‘Torch’ (a 1982 Soft Cell single)
‘Bedsitter’ (Soft Cell song from 1981 ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album)
‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’ (from 1988 ‘The Stars We Are’ album) (Gene Pitney cover)
‘The Days Of Pearly Spencer’ (from 1991 ‘Tenement Symphony’ album) (David McWilliams cover)
‘Jacky’ (from 1991 ‘Tenement Symphony’ album) (Jacques Brel cover)
‘Tainted Love’ (Gloria Jones cover found on Soft Cell’s 1981 ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album)
‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ (Soft Cell song from 1981 ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album)
‘Hot Love’ (a 1971 T. Rex single)
Toyah: 18:30-19:15
After the second Spellbound stint it was back to the live music with everyone’s favourite ‘Teletubbies’ narrator Toyah who I first had the pleasure of seeing live at Blackpool’s Rebellion Festival on 5th August 2022 – Reviews of that day HERE. Toyah arguably first came onto the scene back in 1978 when she was just 20 years old, when she starred, along with my partner Jordan Mooney RIP, in Derek Jarman’s groundbreaking and controversial ‘Jubilee’ film, where she was playing a character called ‘Mad’. Many acting roles and appearances have followed in the intervening 47 years including 40 stage plays, 10 feature films, and voicing and presenting numerous TV shows. Despite this Toyah is probably best known for her musical career where she has released over 20 albums and has had eight top 40 singles, including ‘It’s A Mystery’, ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ and ‘I Want To Be Free’.
All of the above is rather impressive considering the early-life setbacks Toyah had, including a spinal condition, corrective surgery on her feet, suffering from a lisp and not exactly being the tallest person on the planet. But these are clearly character building traits, and just like John Lydon and Jordan Mooney, she (and they) overcame adversity after adversity, until she is now the woman that she is. An outgoing bubbly personality who isn’t afraid to name-drop during her musical connections, but maybe not as much as Nile Rodgers does.
Today, 67 year old Toyah, has brought along her band that this time around comprises Chlöe du Pré (keyboards), Andy Jones (guitar), Mike Goodman (guitar), Freddie Draper (bass) and Stu Roberts (drums). They play in the constant rain for 49 minutes from 6:26pm to 7:15pm and during that period manage to give us 11 numbers. It should have been a dozen, but due to time constraints they had to drop their final song at the very last minute, and for those that were there and wondering what this was going to be, the answer is ‘I Want To Be Free’ from 1981’s ‘Anthem’ album.
They tentatively begin with a cover of Toronto band Martha And The Muffins 1980 hit ‘Echo Beach’ which Toyah released in 1987 on her ‘Desire’ album. I was fortunate to catch the band at the time at Brighton’s Top Rank Suite on 7th May 1980. I believe that this is still their only Brighton gig. The rain does seem to literally be putting a dampener on things, but Toyah being Toyah wasn’t having any of it and the longer they played (in the rain) the better the band got and the more receptive the audience became. Thankfully, Toyah does like a little brief natter between tunes, which today is just enough time to announce every track and, more often or not, what album they are from, or the year they were released, or even its UK Singles Chart position, which is most helpful to a reviewer.
The second pick is ‘Good Morning Universe’ from 1981’s ‘Four More From Toyah’ EP, which sees Toyah ably moving around the stage with ease with her cordless mic. This is followed by what Toyah refers to as a “punk number” in the form of ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ from 1981’s ‘Anthem’ album. I, myself, wouldn’t actually ever count this as sounding like a punk tune, but I guess she could have been referring to its lyrical content: “And the rebel in my soul says go…” and the like. The first of a couple of numbers from her ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’ album is up next with ‘Sensational’ and there’s some twangy guitar action and the Nord Stage 3 keys, bass guitar and electronic drums are working rather well blending together. ‘Space Dance’ from Toyah’s last album in 2021 titled ‘Posh Pop’ was up next, and I think she said about the record making it to No.1 in 36 Independent Charts, I wonder what they were then?.
Toyah then informs us that the next track is taken from Trevor Horn’s ‘Echoes: Ancient & Modern’ album that came out at the tail-end of 2023 and features her on vocals, the tune in question is the epic megasmash ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. There’s absolutely no doubt that Trevor worked his magic on this track, as I had heard an earlier demo version from back in the day, before Trevor got his hands on it, and it’s barely recognisable from the final product. But once you’ve made it perfect and remixed it a load of times back in the day, is there really the need to cover it? Today’s version starts agonisingly slow and I’m very taken aback by this, but then Chlöe starts hitting the keys and suddenly all is well with the world, despite the heavy rain, and it’s from here on in that Toyah’s performance and indeed the audience raised their stakes.
The second cut from 2021’s ‘Posh Pop’ is up next, with the arrival of what Toyah says is her new single, this is ‘Rhythm In My House’, which has obviously been out a while. I’m glad I’m not a betting man, as I would have guessed that the 1981 hit ‘It’s A Mystery’ would be the performance’s closing tune. It’s not, it’s up next and it’s obviously well received. ‘Dance In The Hurricane’ from ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’ is played next and is followed by a tune which Toyah informs us was written in 1983, this is ‘Rebel Run’ from her ‘Love Is The Law’ album. After which Toyah introduces her band and informs us they have two more songs for us. Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’ is given a good old thrust, although I prefer Scooter’s version. Just as Toyah is about to announce the final number, ‘I Want To Be Free’, there’s contact from the side of the stage that time has run out and it all ends rather abruptly. Some artists would have said “sod it” and played it anyway, but Toyah, ever the professional, accordingly complied. And here’s the key word of the set “professional”.
Toyah:
Toyah Willcox – vocals
Chlöe du Pré – keyboards, backing vocals
Freddie Draper – bass, backing vocals
Stu Roberts – drums
Mike Goodman – guitar
Andy Jones – guitar
Toyah setlist:
‘Echo Beach’ (Martha And The Muffins cover) (from Toyah’s 1987 ‘Desire’ album)
‘Good Morning Universe’ (from 1981 ‘Four More From Toyah’ EP)
‘Thunder In The Mountains’ (from 1981 ‘Anthem’ album)
‘Sensational’ (from 2008 ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’ album)
‘Space Dance’ (from 2021 ‘Posh Pop’ album)
‘Relax’ (Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover)
‘Rhythm In My House’ (from 2021 ‘Posh Pop’ album)
‘It’s A Mystery’ (from 1981 ‘Anthem’ album)
‘Dance In The Hurricane’ (from 2008 ‘In The Court Of The Crimson Queen’ album)
‘Rebel Run’ (from 1983 ‘Love Is The Law’ album)
‘Rebel Yell’ (Billy Idol cover)
A Thousand Mad Things: 17:30-18:00
Opening up proceedings today to a sparse crowd is the rather wonderful A Thousand Mad Things, which until a few months back was unknown to me, but that’s partially as it’s the relatively new project of William Barradale. When The Great Escape list of artists is announced I ensure that I listen to all of the acts each year and lo-and-behold out of the hundreds of acts shown as performing in 2025, I had found a new band to follow on only the second selection, and this was simply due to the wording “He brings a modern interpretation of 80’s alternative and synth pop…”. There was no material on offer as the debut single was going to be dropping in April. There was only one performance listed, this being at Daltons on Friday 16th May from 8:15pm to 8:45pm. I seriously had to go, and I did and to save you trying to find out what I said amongst our 225 Great Escape reviews, here’s the account…
A THOUSAND MAD THINGS – Daltons, Brighton 16.5.25 20:15 – 20:45
Out of nowhere has come brand new London-based vocalist, producer and musician William Barradale, who goes under the moniker of A Thousand Mad Things. Last month he dropped his debut single, titled ‘Wide Awake’ via the Nettwek label. Here is an artist I knew nothing about other than the name and the fact that he will be the opening act on Brighton Beach for The Human League concert on 23rd July. When I found out about this, there was then no music to listen to, but I had a strong suspicion that he would be very much to my liking – Thank God I wasn’t wrong! On stage this evening is William on lead vocals, and there is an ipad with Nord Piano 2 HP plus a Korg which his chum takes care of as well as backing vocals. Daltons has filled up nicely, including William’s auntie who is obviously quite a character. They kick off and within seconds all I hear from the vocal delivery is Marc Almond with a hint of Billy Mackenzie from The Associates, although visually he has gone for the Colin Vearncombe (aka Black) suit look. It’s dramatic, flamboyant (possibly camp) with William throwing the shapes and each tune carries a story. There’s many lines to each song and musically it’s a varied set as opposed to just a few word dance numbers. I’m half expecting him to burst out and sing a few lines of Marc Almond’s cover of ‘Jacky’ as he delivers ‘Local Guys’, which hopefully will be included on his debut EP out 30th May. ‘Hate It’ has a fast electronic beat in a modern interpretation of 80s alternative and synth-pop. The penultimate number, which may have been called ‘She’s On The Run’ wasn’t listed on the setlist that I could see, but fans of The Human League’s ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ will be most happy! It’s a brilliant set and I’m very excited to watch A Thousand Mad Things become famous!
Back to today on Brighton Beach and vocalist William Barradale is joined by James FR on synthesiser, keyboard and programming for their 28 minute set which ran from 5:30pm to 5:58pm. In that time the lads gave the increasing crowd 8 self-penned numbers. The first of these being one of his 2025 singles in the form of ‘Girl’ and after the applause had died down, he states “Brighton Beach, we made it work didn’t we!”.
The first of 5 unreleased songs comes next, this is called ‘Truth You Seek’ and is followed by another yet to be recorded song, this is I think he said about “sex” or something and it’s titled ‘My Car’. This is the best track thus far and is an earworm on account of the repeated line “How do you know if someone else is there?”. The next unreleased song is ‘Promises’ and is not the Buzzcocks tune of the same name, but one which sees William very much in Marc Almond territory. After this, William introduces his new single and it’s called ‘Local Guys’ and this goes down rather well with the punters.
Mind you, the next one ‘Hate It’ seriously does sound like Soft Cell and I can’t wait for this one to drop. However, the pick of the bunch for me is the penultimate selection, ‘She’s On The Run’, which really needs to hit the streets. My friend’s ears seriously picked up on this and immediately noticed the similarity to The Human League’s ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’, which is exactly as I had done on my debut encounter above. The guys signed off with the 2025 ‘Wide Awake’ single, which is another blinding tune. I’m certain that A Thousand Mad Things have today gained quite a number of new converts. Interestingly, during The Human League set later on, Phil Oakey thanks these ahead of Marc Almond and Toyah! Find them on Bandcamp HERE.
A Thousand Mad Things:
William Barradale – vocals
James FR – synthesiser, keyboard, programming, backing vocals
A Thousand Mad Things setlist:
‘Girl’ (a 2025 single)
‘Truth You Seek’ (unreleased)
‘My Car’ (unreleased)
‘Promises’ (unreleased)
‘Local Guys’ (a 2025 single)
‘Hate It’ (unreleased)
‘She’s On The Run’ (unreleased)
‘Wide Awake’ (a 2025 single)
