METRO GIG GUIDE

Alan Wilkes, aka Vinny Peculiar, wraps decades of pop culture and decades of personal history in immaculately crafted pop gems. If this sounds daunting, rest assured then a VP album is first and foremost glorious fun. His most recent album, last year’s The Fall And Rise Of VinnyPeculiar, is his most accomplished work yet, as he has the happy knack of getting better and better. Spotting the references in his songs is a pleasant activity. He mentions Billy Fisher – Billy Liar, as portrayed by Tom Courtney in the John Schlesinger film and a character called Travis, as in ‘like Travis lost beneath the desert sky’. The penny drops. This isn’t the band or the Bickle of Taxi Driver but Harry Dean Stanton’s character in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. All this name-dropping makes a direct connection to the listener; we can all remember where we were when we first saw Paris, Texas. But Peculiar’s achievement is to bring universality to his more personal songs too. Peculiar has a great deal in common with Morrissey, but is more ready to admit to the gentle bewilderment of middle age. Imagine if Mozza had stayed at home and hadn’t moved away (living first in LA and then Rome). Imagine if The Smiths hadn’t disbanded. The presence of Smiths drummer Mike Joyce in Peculiar’s band drives home the comparison. Bass duties are handled by Bonehead from Oasis. Manchester’s waifs and strays could do a lot worse than be under his peculiar wing. Mike Butler