The evening of words and music at Metronome started with bluesy country songs from Nottingham’s Jess Breame, accompanied on guitar by Nick Hinchcliffe. I was asked to shoot the event from a few rows back, to be very discreet and have my camera shutter on silent. I wondered if the rest of the audience had received a similar memo as I’ve never known an audience to be so quiet (and to refrain from wandering off to the bar) during a support act.
Perhaps Jess is more familiar with the sound of chat accompanying her sets too, as she remarked a couple of times on how quiet the crowd was. Jess’ songs were enjoyably stripped back and emotionally lyrical. I look forward to checking out her forthcoming album which she said will have a bigger sound supplied by a strings section.
With a flight case put on its end covered in a black sheet, a make-shift table was put in place ready for the main event. BBC 6Music’s Chris Hawkins took to the stage to welcome Badly Drawn Boy (real name Damon Gough).
Wearing a beanie as usual (a black one tonight), sitting on a stool with a pint of orange juice beside him, Damon was showing some signs of being anxious. But Chris’ excellent relationship the artist shone through as he guided Damon’s personal reflections and story-telling from his childhood as a boy in a hard-working but very poor family and his admiration for tennis player Bjorn Borg, to his excitement at buying The Smiths' debut album and studying jazz before quickly realising that his style of playing didn’t fit that genre. We also learnt that Damon’s discovery of Beck’s music helped him apply a lo-fi sound to his compositions and enabled him to find the confidence to release his early EPs.
After the first part of the Q&A session, we’re treated to part of both the guitar and piano versions of Outside is a Light. I’m struck by how much depth there is to Damon's live vocal. I’m not the only one. Chris asks Damon if his voice has changed over the years. Damon doesn’t think so. We’re then asked which version of the song we prefer, with the piano rendition coming out on top. Damon seems a little disappointed at this result, explaining that the guitar version had more to it musically.
After being asked what he thought of Britpop, Damon launches into a rarely told story of how he ended up meeting Liam Gallagher after Huey Morgan invited him to The Met Bar during what was to become Liam’s infamous ‘lost weekend’. Following an initial, slightly confrontational and frosty exchange at the bar, Liam requested someone find two guitars. After Liam performed, a friend of Damon’s pushed him forward to play; naturally, Damon had felt unsure of performing in front of Liam, but agreed and delivered Once Around the Block to the listening bar. Liam's response was surprise as he admitted to having heard the song on the radio but not knowing who Badly Drawn Boy was. So impressed was Liam that he invited Damon to perform a set supporting Oasis, jokingly suggesting a half-hour set consisting only of Once... Sadly, the Oasis support slot never happened.
To the crowd’s delight, after telling this story Damon performed both The Shining and Once Around The Block.
The second half of the fascinating evening covered the Weitz brothers approaching Damon to write the soundtrack to About a Boy, and how Damon had struggled to engage with the screenplay as written as he had been too distracted by the directions; he returned to Nick Hornby’s book for the feel of the story. Chris asked the audience which song from the soundtrack they’d like to hear. Shouts for Donna and Blitzen and Silent Sigh were ignored – Damon wanted to sing A Minor Incident, which we were all more than happy to listen to.
Damon talked honestly, openly and fondly about people in his life – his ex-wife, current wife and children, as well as people he has worked with in the music industry. He spoke of his rehabilitation from alcohol use and received a round of applause for being 10 years sober. He also covered the loss of his brother who’d been an early influence in his music listening.
Chris then guided him through the remaining Badly Drawn Boy albums before Damon performed a song from each. Born in the UK – a reference to Bruce Springsteen’s famous album, gave him a chance to talk about the time he met one of his music idols, before he launched into the title track.
We were all pleased to hear that Damon is keen to record more music and there will be more Badly Drawn Boy albums to come in the future.
By the end of the conversation, there was, sadly, almost no time for questions from the audience, but one or two were squeezed in allowing Damon to discuss his appearance on Celebrity Mastermind where his specialist subject was Bruce Springsteen. Chris had also been on the show, with his specialism being Coronation Street. Both Chris and Damon had come second in their episodes which led to a quip from Damon that that meant they were the best lovers!
I left the event with an appreciation for Damon’s vulnerability and openness in what he had chosen to share. It did not matter that some songs were only partially played – his acoustic performances were a beauty to listen to. Luckily for local fans, it will not be long until he’s back in Nottingham, as Badly Drawn Boy is due to perform at Foolhardy Folk Festival at The Arboretum on 30 August.
Badly Drawn Boy performed - and conversed with Chris Hawkins - at Metronome on 23rd April 2026.
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