View 2 Gallery, Liverpool. 24 February 2010.

On the night in Liverpool that Lady Ga Ga was packing them in at the Liverpool Echo Arena, we visited a gallery venue in the city to witness a performance by a singer/songwriter who I regard as one of the very best in the UK. I first saw David Ford back in 2006 when he supported Susanne Vega, also in Liverpool. I subseqently acquired both his albums and relived that incredible performance. I recently learned that he has released a new album but I didn’t realsie he was playing this show until my associate knocked on my study window while I was selecting songs for our radio show. So what’s wrong with the doorbell, you may well ask. Well, when picking songs I listen to them with radio earphones, so I am totally deaf to any other sounds, which JJ is well aware of. Anyway, I was so engrossed I missed his email saying he would pick me up at 7:30 to go to the David Ford show. Five minutes later we were on our way to the city on the Mersey, the rock capitol of the world, and appropriately heading for a small venue close to the Cavern club.

There were actually three artists on the bill, including the wonderful female, Liverpool-based singer/songwriter Ragz, who we regretfully missed. But we were on time to catch Hannah Peel, Ford’s instrumentalist and backing vocalist who has decided to forge her own solo career and tonight was showing her wares. Peel is young woman of Irish descent and during her short set performed two beautiful Irish folk songs, along with a gentle and charming version of ‘Tainted Love.’ She also sang a couple of her own compositions during a faultless and endearing performance. I wish her luck.

David Ford is about to tackle the USA again, following in the footsteps of Damien Rice and Fionn Regan who have both caused something of a stir over there. Ford has already crossed the big pond with some succcess, but I get the feeling this trip will be a more planned campaign, and could make an even more substantial impression. He is a singer/songwriter firmly in the protest tradition. Listen to ‘Requiem’ from his last album (SONGS FOR THE ROAD) and you’ll understand why I say this. His voice and songs are edgier than any other UK singer/songwriter I know, and it’s in the live arena where the full force of that anger and passion are most evident. But he also sings about relationships, usually in bittersweet terms…

Ford is a self-contained, one-man sound system and so it’s took a while for him to ensure that everything is working to his satisfaction. He has a bedside cabinet loaded with electronic gear and numerous other fancy-footwork items in addition to his two guitars and keyboard. He explained that he is going to perform the whole of the new album in song-list order and opened with a self-confessional ‘Panic’, a song with a short fuse that finally explodes after the middle-eight. It’s a storming song in the style of ‘Requiem’ and delivered with real venom. ‘Making Up For Lost Time’ is a road song with hints of darkness, while ‘Waiting For The Storm’ has a reflective, cautionary, country vibe, and meanders along like a slow-moving river tide with some telling harmonica moments.