Matt Berry Showcases His Musical Talents At The Forum
Published
Up to now, Matt Berry's musical talents have only flitted about in the corners of my attention through the surreal musical interludes in 'Toast of London'. I may have briefly glimpsed Berry's name on the credits revealing him to be the artist behind the show's now well known theme tune, but I haven't been aware of his other life as a credible and long standing musician in his own right.
The ‘80s bravado of Berry’s booming voice in 'The I.T. Crowd', 'The Mighty Boosh', 'House of Fools' amongst others may suggest that his musical career would revel in self-indulgence, bordering on parody. However, his softly softly approach to the gigging circuit suggests an altogether more complex beast. I once chatted him up in my distant single years at The Chortle Awards and discovered that he was a) terrified and b) extremely shy (worth a crack, eh). So, if the meek will inherit the earth as we’re told then Berry’s intriguing musical style is certainly worthy of a proper listen.
Last Friday I arrived at The Forum to properly dive into Berry’s musical world. On arrival, my eagle-eyed plus 1 spots the Curious Orange (Paul Putner) from 'This Morning with Richard Not Judy' (kids – it starred Stewart Lee and Richard Herring – YouTube it) queuing patiently at the box office. This is a pretty impressive feat given its never been repeated or released on DVD, and we silently cheer him on as he shows the box office his text from Berry inviting him down when his name has gone rogue.
Inside, it’s an audience of some fresh faced 'Toast' lovers and those who have followed Berry’s musical journey away from the limelight. Collectively, we could blitz any pub quiz picture round based on identifying Guardian Guide covers (surely one of these must take place in Stoke Newington) and sing a word perfect rendition of "One Track Lover" from 'Garth Morenghi’s Dark Place'.
Smugness reigns, so it’s rather fun when Matt Berry’s six-strong band puncture that smugness by being deliciously frolicsome and hitting their stride with a minimum of fuss and pretence. "Medicine" is a cheery Kinks-esque opener – a chirpy kick start for the night. In fact the front half of the gig is quite different in style to the more prog rock second half, with "Devil Inside Me" and "A Song for Rosie" picking up the upbeat mantle backed by strings. You can’t help but wonder if this is some of the influence of ex-Bluetones singer Mark Moriss who forms part of Berry’s band, The Maypoles, along with folk artist Cecilia Fage (in full bloom with twins, whom Berry dedicates the night’s entertainment to in joyous mood) and some talented backing artists.
You'd be amazed how often you pay to see good musicians having fun and don't get it. This merry band seems to be having a cracking time, embellishing, showing off and relishing it. They even manage to enjoy "Take My Hand", the theme tune to 'Toast of London', which they must be pretty sick of by now.
How do you judge a band by someone oft'telly? Differently, much as I’d like to pretend otherwise. I nearly wrote about Berry having a great voice but then realised I wouldn’t bother with such analysis of most bands vocals unless they were outstanding and simply accept the fact they can sing in tune. While a lot of Berry's projects have been entwined with music it's good to see down the barrel of the gun.
In my A&R years I used to see a lot of drek. A LOT OF DREK. And that included famous people in bands to make a quick buck. This isn't that. While Berry has drafted in a mean collection of musicians for the live act, in the studio he plays the majority of the instruments and is in fact producer, engineer, songwriter and performer. There's a big prog rock influence here in the gig’s second half, heralded by the Led Zeppelin playing before the band came on stage. It can get a bit stagey, a bit pastiched in places, but "The Pheasant" and "Solstice" are both enjoyable for their indulgence. It’s when the band more away from their Pink Floyd influences that the tracks have a fresh take, such as the fun jazz calypso "In Your Eyes" and the tripping rhythms in "A Song for Rosie".
Just as I’m thinking it’s a bit Fleet Foxes with a handlebar moustache up its arse - daftly enjoyable with vast layers arranged on top of each other - we hit prog rock territory. At one point the bass guitar manages to sound like a tuba, while one track sounds like the soundtrack to a high concept Xbox game. In fact the weakest point tends to be the older tracks such as a segment from the BBC3 spoof rock opera AD/BC perhaps showing how much Berry’s songwriting and arrangements have moved on. It’s sadly the last track before the encore which includes the Fleetwood Mac-natured "The Pheasant" and a guest appearance from James Bond composer David Arnold (which should have been swopped in order with "The Pheasant").
Berry may be seemingly happy to keep his ‘other life’ as a musician out of the limelight but this swift jaunt through his musical history swept everyone along with the joy he clearly takes from putting his tunes centre stage.
To find out more about Matt Berry click here.
Words by Amy Vickery
