Evening Standard showcase evening at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

London Evening Standard Magazine, 5 August 1994

By DAVID GALE

When David Byrne first saw goateed Patrick McHughes of the Tiger Lillies on video, he exclaimed, 'James Joyce on drums!' Byrne was so impressed by the bohemian band's extraordinary sound that he has booked them into a showcase evening at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, along with three bands from his own Luaka Bop label. They warm up with their own gig in the Purcell Room the day before.

The Tiger Lillies play like a force of nature. Singer Martyn Jacques has a countertenor, verging on soprano, voice that soars, swoops and growls as the mood demands. And the mood can get very intense indeed. Supported by double bass, drums and his own accordion playing, Jacques appears to go into a deep trance as soon as the band kicks in. His eyes roll up into his skull, his head wrenches to one side as if in spasm, and sweat streams from under his brown woolly hat. The songs of street life are short, savage and passionate, with an unfashionably moral tone that comes in a startling mix of opera, gypsy song and boulevard ballads.

Jacques lived in Soho for six years, writing songs, training his voice and spying on the lowlife. The band came fully on stream two years ago. With 120 songs in their repertoire and a new one written every few days, they hit the club and pub circuit six nights a week. It's not surprising that their cult following is worldwide - a Tiger Lillies gig is a journey into wild emotion that passes right through melodrama and out the other side into bizarre beauty.