PETE FIJ + BATTERY OPERATED ORCHESTRA – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 22.10.26
Pete Fijalkowski aka Pete Fij first burst onto the scene in the early 90s as the frontman and guitarist of post-shoegaze / pre-Britpop band Adorable. The outfit were formed in Coventry by Piotr Fijalkowski (vocals/guitar), Robert Dillam (guitar), Kevin Gritton (drums) and Wil (bass), out of the ashes of The Candy Thieves.
Adorable released their ‘Against Perfection’ album in 1993, on Creation Records, and it is regularly referred to as a lost indie classic, with the band picking up multiple ‘Single of the Week’ awards in the NME, and topping the Indie charts. Noel Gallagher once told Creation Records’ Alan McGee that dropping Adorable from the label was one of his biggest mistakes, whilst other artists such as Ash, Slowdive and Brian Jonestown Massacre, amongst others, have all expressed their admiration for the band. Sadly Adorable only lasted three years from 1991-94.
Following this, Fij joined up with his brother Krzys to form the One Little Indian band Polak (‘Swansongs’ 2000 / ‘Rubbernecking’ 2002), which took in influences from the likes of Sparklehorse, Radiohead and dEUS, and led The Independent to call him “the most gifted lyricist since Jarvis Cocker last put pen to paper”.
There then followed a musical exile, after having what Pete now describes as “a musical breakdown” before re-emerging alongside celebrated House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers to release two critically acclaimed albums as Pete Fij / Terry Bickers on 2014’s ‘Broken Heart Surgery’, and 2017’s ‘We Are Millionaires’, winning the Roundtable ‘Single of The Week’ on Steve Lamacq’s BBC 6Music show – “Beautiful” (MOJO) “Unfailingly lovely” (UNCUT) “Stunning” (OHM) “Beautifully constructed” (Q).
Fij has now undergone a metamorphosis and literally fallen in love, ditched his job, and has now applied his wry lyrical touch plus once again slung on his electric guitar, and upped the BPMs. He is now embracing his fuzzed-up dream-pop past but also throwing in elements of pop and electronica. Now signed to Tip Top Recordings, the title of his new LP is appropriately enough ‘Up’s The New Down’ which was released on 10th July 2026. The first single from the album, the euphoric ‘Love’s Coming Back’ came out in November 2025, followed by the dark, more cinematic track ‘Cuckoo’ in February 2026.
In support of his fresh new solo material that brims with melody, wit and understated charm, West Sussex based Fij has been out on tour across the country, having already played in Norwich, Lincoln, Northampton, Darlington, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Kingston, Derby, Salford, and London (again). This evening he arrives back in Sussex for the final date of the tour. The venue of choice being the Green Door Store courtesy of Melting Vinyl promoters.
Melting Vinyl have cleverly selected the support act for this evening, who musically are quite some distance from the Fij sound, thus they manage to get two different sets of fans to mingle together. The opening act is none other than our old favourites, East Sussex husband and wife electronic duo Battery Operated Orchestra aka BOO, who have been on the case for the past 15 years.
BOO comprises Brigitte Rose on lead vocals and synth, and Chris Black on vocals, keyboards, electronics. Together they make highly charged electronica with incredibly addictive melodies, blending post-punk energy, DIY spirit and irresistible pop hooks. On 4th August BOO dropped their eighth album, ‘Sea Views Soft Rains’. It’s a haunting, cinematic electronic pop record shaped by twelve found photographs set against the backdrop of a small English seaside town.
The album unfolds as a series of interconnected stories of revenge, love, loss and redemption, all refracted through rain-streaked windows, empty promenades and abandoned ballrooms. Known for their distinctive blend of analogue synth textures and emotionally resonant songwriting, the duo continue to refine a sound that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. A combination that has earned them consistent critical praise.
This evening we are in their company for 31 minutes, from 8:00pm to 8:31pm, in which time we are rewarded with 7 career spanning cuts. Chris has gone for the slightly mad vicar look and Brigitte is sporting a striking red dress with black streaks as well as boxer boots. They open with ‘A Clearing’ from 2018’s ‘Snare’ album, which nicely sets the tone. Very pleasingly my favourite ever BOO tune is up next, this being the title song from their 2016 ‘Radiation’ album, which is a hypnotic electronic masterpiece. I always close my eyes to this one and float away with the music, just as I do for the likes of ‘Neon Lights’ by Kraftwerk.
Tonight’s sound engineer is doing a great job as the output is crisp and clear. Brigitte is very much in the zone this evening and I don’t believe I have ever witnessed her deliver her lyrics with so much gusto and actions, it’s a pleasure to behold. I’m clearly not the only person to notice, as looking around me at the front, the other punters also seem transfixed.
Brigitte addresses the crowd and informs us that the next cut is from their new album, it’s ‘Responsible Adult’ and this very pleasingly sits as though it’s an outtake from The Human League’s classic ‘Dare’ album. After this, the clock is wound back a dozen years for ‘Obelisk’ from 2014’s ‘Incomplete Until Broken’ album, with its standout lyrics of “I don’t want to hear; About your holiday In Ibiza; Or wherever the f*ck you go; At night”. The higher-pitched synth notes on this are notable as well.
For anyone of a certain age, who hasn’t heard the next tune live before, would be in for a little surprise as the duo summon their inner most Grace Brothers from ‘Are You Being Served’ TV programme for BOO’s ‘Service Economy’ from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album, which is given the ‘Mr Humphries Mix’ treatment. “Ground floor: perfumery; Stationery and leather goods; Wigs and haberdashery; Kitchenware and food; Going up. First floor: telephones; Gents’ ready-made suits; Shirts, socks, ties, hats; Underwear and shoes; Going up. Second floor: carpets; Travel goods and beddings; Materials, soft furnishing; Restaurant and teas; Going down”.
BOO’s penultimate selection is ‘The Getaway’ from 2020’s ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album, which this evening commences with floaty keys followed by banging electronic beats. They signed off with ‘Nightclub Mishap’ from 2023’s ‘Compulsory Games’ album, which has the retro vibe of B.E.F and League Unlimited Orchestra. It’s been a sweet, far too short performance, with the couple being the most animated I’ve ever seen them. Confidence is high at the moment, which is pleasing. In summing up, bloody brilliant!!!
Battery Operated Orchestra:
Brigitte Rose – lead vocals, synth
Chris Black – vocals, keyboards, electronics
Battery Operated Orchestra setlist:
‘A Clearing’ (from 2018 ‘Snare’ album)
‘Radiation’ (from 2016 ‘Radiation’ album)
‘Responsible Adult’ (from 2026 ‘Sea Views Soft Rains’ album)
‘Obelisk’ (from 2014 ‘Incomplete Until Broken’ album)
‘Service Economy (Mr Humphries Mix)’ (from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album)
‘The Getaway’ (from 2020 ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album)
‘Nightclub Mishap’ (from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album)
After half an hour live music hiatus Pete Fij and his chum Davy Chapman take to the stage, with both chaps on guitar and vocals. Davy notably has a Rickenbacker! Fij obviously on lead vocals and takes care of the pre-recorded backing (drum machine, keys etc) via foot pedals. Their setlists are showing 13 tunes, but it appears they got a tad lost and apparently missed a couple and then we possibly ended up with 14 songs. I’ve listed the proposed setlist at the bottom.
Fij has a lush and rich baritone voice, which, not surprisingly, has been compared to Lee Hazlewood, Lou Reed and Richard Hawley in the past. This evening, my notes observe both Lou Reed and Richard Hawley, as well as more often Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen. It is said that Fij is sounding stronger, more urgent and characterful than ever. They open with a trio of cuts from the new ‘Up’s The New Down’ album, these being ‘Complicated’, ‘Wake Up Honey’ and ‘Buzz Buzz’. The guitar sound on ‘Complicated’ reminds me of T.Rex’s ‘Telegram Sam’ and overall it could be suggested as a mash up of T.Rex and The Doors. The title of ‘Wake Up Honey’ is often repeated throughout the tune, as I note is the case for a number of compositions this evening, so certainly not shy of drumming the messages across then! The Bunnymen-esque ‘Buzz Buzz’ is a prime example. Despite there being just the two of them on the stage, the produced sound has so much more depth and sits rather well with 1980’s and 1990’s indie sounds.
The first of four Adorable songs comes next with the arrival of ‘I’ll Be Your Saint’ which was a 1992 single for the band. I must say that there’s certainly a whiff of vintage U2 about this one, as well as Bunnymen. In fact, I was almost waiting for Fij to sing “Spare us the cutter”. For me personally, it’s the most enjoyable track thus far.
According to their setlist, the unreleased ‘Random Trains’ is next, however this is introduced in two songs time and Fij states that “it has a great backing track”. He’s not wrong you know, it has a repeated thunder crashing sound. Fij’s guitar has more than a strong whiff of early New Order about it. Prior to this, Fij finally addresses the crowd, it’s prior to tune six and he tells us that they have covered 2000 miles on the tour. The previous number has the repeated “I Wanna” lyrics which Fij sounds like Hawley and McCulloch combined.
According to the setlist, the duo are due to plunder the new record, which was recorded at Church Road Studios in Hove, with no less than 4 cuts in a row, which are listed as ‘Hey Sunshine’, ‘Kitchen Disco’, ‘Love’s Coming Back’ and ‘Actor’. In this section there’s a nod to the vibe of Happy Mondays ‘Kinko Afro’ with its “Yippee-ippee-ey-ey-ay-yey-yey; I had to crucify some brother today”, but if delivered by The Doors. We get the back story to ‘Kitchen Disco’ which contains “What’s the point of money if you can’t dance in the kitchen”, a line uttered in a kitchen by a woman over a bottle of cheap wine. Fij married the lady, and Iris the dog came as part of the package, and she is the dog on the cover of the new album. The final line of the track: “Let’s go to bed!”. There’s a Jesus And Mary Chain vibe thrown into the mix as well near to the end of this section.
“I’d like to be alone; Away from your port of stone; But your lighthouse is calling out; You, coming up for air; Have locked on to my distressed flare; Run aground, all hands going down” signals the start of the second Adorable cut of the night, this being ‘Submarine’ from 1994’s ‘Fake’ album. The joint harmonies worked well here. After which Fij gives out the thank you’s, including the sound guy, promoters Melting Vinyl and support act Battery Operated Orchestra. ‘Cuckoo’ from ‘Up’s The New Down’ is then given an outing.
They signed off by announcing that a guy called Simon was in the audience this evening and this Simon was the one that published the first ever review of the Adorable 34 years ago and it was this review that led to them getting signed by Creation Records. The sedate ‘A To Fade In’ and U2-ish plus deep synth laden ‘Homeboy’, both from 1993’s Adorable ‘Against Perfection’ album concluded the performance, and at 10:06pm they were done. The punters had enjoyed the 65 minute live encounter.
Pete Fij:
Pete Fij – lead vocals, guitar, presets
Davy Chapman – guitar, vocals
Pete Fij proposed setlist:
‘Complicated’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Wake Up Honey’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Buzz Buzz’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘I’ll Be Your Saint’ (Adorable cover) (a 1992 Adorable single)
‘Random Trains’ (unreleased?)
‘Hey Sunshine’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Kitchen Disco’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Love’s Coming Back’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Actor’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘Submarine’ (Adorable cover) (from 1994 Adorable ‘Fake’ album)
‘Cuckoo’ (from 2026 ‘Up’s The New Down’ album)
‘A To Fade In’ (Adorable cover) (from 1993 Adorable ‘Against Perfection’ album)
‘Homeboy’ (Adorable cover) (from 1993 Adorable ‘Against Perfection’ album)
