Although his talent deserves better – itโs almost impossible to review Baxter Dury without mentioning his dad. So letโs get that out of the way.
A mere 42 years, nine months and nine days ago, I watched Baxterโs dad, Ian, (and the Blockheads) play at the Rock on the Tyne Festival at Gateshead Stadium.
I was 10 and with my dad, I donโt suppose Baxter (nine) was in attendance.ย
On Tuesday night, all these years later, we were a mile up the road at the Glasshouse International Music Centre watching Baxter and band playing their biggest North East gig to date.
Despite arguably benefitting from being, in his own words, โa very budget nepo babyโ, Baxter Duryโs career has been built by stealth. While heโs still very much under the radar, his popularity is growing and itโs not hard to see why.
Suave suit, stick thin and artfully unkempt, the man has charisma and great tunes too. Baxter is understandably huge in France. While here he may struggle to escape his dadโs shadow – there heโs more likely to evoke comparisons with Serge Gainsbourg.
Who is his British crowd? Judging by The Glasshouse audience, theyโre drawn from Generations X to Z with even a smattering of younger boomers.
And, although the venue didnโt appear to be entirely full – Baxter wasnโt content to go through the motions in a setting that was perhaps less club-like than he was used to. Nobody moves like Baxter. While other front men dance like nobodyโs watching, Baxter dances as if no one else exists.
Jacket on, jacket off, jacket swirled, scarf around head, around waist, around chest etc. Microphone stand swung at head height. If a Tuesday night Glasshouse crowd werenโt exactly jumping then it wasnโt for the lack of trying. Iโm Not Your Dog, Slumlord and Aylesbury Boy were the high points of the first part of the evening.
It was noticeable, at this point, that Baxterโs bottled water was suddenly replaced by two large glasses of red.
Then came a blistering Miami.
โI don’t think you know who I am. I’m the sausage man. The shadow licker. I’m the tiny little ghost that features in your despondent moments. The timeless whisper. The glassy dudeโฆ.โ
Leaving the stage to cheers, the band soon returned and the energy was taken up a notch as the wine was necked. Cocaine Man lifted the crowd but it was a raucous These are My Friends that got us dancing.
โCome on Gateshead stroke Newcastle,โ shouted Baxter.
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โI hate London, I love it here..you are my friends!โ
Having effectively won the gig in extra time, Baxter walked off shouting โWeโre coming back!โ but it turned out he meant to Gateshead rather than the stage.
Two decades into his music career, it feels like Baxter is yet to peak. While heโs never quite broken through into the mainstream, there are few acts still improving at this stage of their journey.
Because, whether itโs lifting a Glasshouse crowd or putting out his best records into his 50s, the ladโs got staying power.
And heโs our friend.
