Bernard Butler

The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross is one of Glasgow’s hidden architectural gems. The only church in the world designed by the great Scottish architect, designer and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Commissioned in 1896 by the Free Church, the simplicity of the design is inspiring. The windows are Gothic in character, yet are infused with the Mackintosh spirit, and the floral motifs he affected can be easily recognised, particularly on the tracery of the large western window above the chancel.

Spinning the words above which describe the venue so eloquently for Bernard Butler’s latest visit to Scotland, few would argue that the extensive output from Butler over the years has offered a number of musical gems of its own.

Some well-known, whether as a solo artist or in collaboration, others hidden from obvious view as he sat in the producer’s chair for many of the top line artists that have had a significant impact on the music scene over the past thirty years or more.

Last night, with only three guitars and a few pedals to play with, he captured the spirit of Mackintosh himself with a sequence of simple arrangements as he cherry picked from his most recent album Good Grief and integrated these with a number of songs showcasing just a tiny selection from his back catalogue of work.

How appropriate in this church, that the set was kicked off with the haunting Preaching to the Choir. This was the first of a number of tracks taken from the Good Grief album including Camber Sands, Primrose Hill, Living the Dream and London Snow.

On this night, particular highlights included I’m Clean from Good Grief, two numbers from his collaboration with Jess Buckley, 20 Years A Growing and Shallow The Water; Yes which was a hit with David McAlmont; and the magnificent Autograph from his solo album People Move On.

A Bernard Butler gig is the sum of many parts. His guitar playing excellence is beyond dispute. While gentle string picking for the quieter sections of songs were to the fore, this was occasionally interspersed with short guitar solos that showcased his virtuosity which has been a hallmark of his reputation as one of the country’s foremost guitarists.

However, what each show offers is an acknowledgement of place, time and memories.

His current batch of songs reflect on his feelings of his own home city London. While recognising its drawbacks, it’s home for him, born and bred, it has a unique pulling power.

In Glasgow, before each song there was a story to be told.

He loved Glasgow. Who doesn’t?

However, he loved Glasgow because of good memories of working with other artists from in and around the city. Edwyn Collins, Roddy Frame, Norman Blake, James Grant and East Kilbride all got name checked, though the latter had the audience scratching their heads. An anecdotal story for each. An attentive audience waiting for the punch line.

Even the venue building was centre stage for one of his most passionate stories – what it means to artists to be able to play in such magnificent and haloed settings and how many are being lost each year due to the financial constraints being placed on them.

The show finished with an encore that was never going to be an encore, however, as he identified himself he’d saved the best for last. From the most recent album the audience were treated to Pretty D followed by Not Alone from People Move On.

I’m sure I’m Not Alone in thanking Bernard for a geat gig. A wonderful talent. A raconteur. A showman. See you soon.