The Loft

Gulliver's, Manchester - 13 March 2025

We have got used to seeing bands play their first gigs in decades over recent years as so many of them have reformed that it is no longer a matter for raised eyebrows. That this is The Loft's first concert in Manchester for forty years, then, is not the main point of interest. It is not half as important as the fact that this is THE LOFT's first gig in Manchester in forty years. It's the first date on the band's tour to promote their debut album, Everything Changes, Everything Stays The Same, and in our minds this is the most important gig of the year. Or virtually any year. If you are of our vintage, you will know that it was The Loft who gave credibility to the nascent and erratic Creation Records label back in the mid 1980s. They released a single in 1984, another in 1985, and then split up dramatically before they had even put an album together. Not the strongest career portfolio you may believe, but the simple truth is that The Loft were the best band ever to feature for that label, their records were the best ever to be released by that label, and quite frankly very few artists have ever matched their quality.

We have been pissed off with The Loft for forty years. The band split up on 24th June 1985 in a dramatic bust-up on stage at the biggest concert of their career at the Hammersmith Palais. It was astonishing that they managed to get everything wrong: the thoughts behind the split, the manner of the split and the ridiculously bad timing of it. In our minds, The Loft were destined to rule the world. They had a magic about them that is so rare to find. Not only were their songs good, they were ridiculously good. They had an immaculate rhythm section that never looked like it was having to try, a stunning guitarist who could dream up riffs that cut you to your soul, and a singer who was not only a mean guitarist as well, but possibly the greatest lyricist of the age. Pete Astor's poetry poured over the music with precision. Few songwriters used as many words and fewer made every one of them so vital to the story. When you listen to a record by the Loft, you sing every word, not just the chorus. They were so fucking special and they fucked up so badly.

The band could do everything but get along. In the fanzine, The Zine In Between, available at the venue, Astor talks about those days revealing that it was his headspace that was the problem. Despite receiving mountains of fan mail telling him how good the band were this didn't appear to register as his brain was overheating. "There was so much going on inside me that I couldn't see it. Most of what I could see and feel was this raging ache inside that things somehow weren't right," he states. Days change, of course. In 2023 Astor phoned guitarist Andy Strickland to inform him he had a bunch of new songs that could work as a Loft album and thankfully the logistics of gathering all four members proved workable and The Loft finally settled down to record their debut album which has just seen light of day.

And it is clear that the band are delighted with what they have recorded. On stage Pete announces that they were so proud of what they had achieved they thought about only playing the new songs on the tour. It's the sort of thing Wire would have done, but when you have recorded some of the greatest indie guitar pop tunes of all time, it would have been a criminal offence to omit them. The fact that such a wonderful song as 'Your Door Shines Like Gold' was nowhere on the set-list just goes to show how good their back catalogue is, though we live in hope of hearing it live again one day.

Instead they open with 'On A Tuesday' and it really is difficult to describe the thrill it brings as the familiar chords ring out. They add their cover of Richard Hell's brilliant 'Time' with Pete adding that the song makes more sense the older he gets. "It seems you see the most of what is really true when you're stepping into your hearse" he sings, and yet the tune never comes across as maudlin, rather as extremely touching and human. Other Loft classics include 'Winter', 'Worm In My Brain' and the two singles, 'Why Does The Rain' and 'Up The Hill And Down The Slope', the closest any song has ever got to saying it all at once, and with Pete taking on what is one of the greatest indie guitar solos of all time.

The rest is the new album, featuring six of its ten songs. A glimpse at the set list shows that they have three more songs lined up as an encore, but they decide to not to play them. It's a good idea. The evening has gone really well, the band have played faultlessly and the audience in this neat venue above Gulliver's pub are extremely happy. "We promise we won't break up on stage," says Andy with a smile and it is clear that the quartet are enjoying playing together again. Drummer Dave Morgan is all jocularity and laughs, while Bill Prince looks supremely laid back as he gently plucks at his bass.

Having The Loft back is something we never thought we would see and something to be cherished. The new songs have clearly been written for the band and work extremely well and the more the band play together again, the more these will evolve into something supreme. Of course we hope there is more to come. To be frank, they owe us.

 

Set List: On A Tuesday, Feel Good Now, The Elephant, Dr Clarke, Time, 10 Years, Winter, Storytime, Worm In My Brain, Do The Shut Up, Why Does The Rain, Up The Hill And Down The Slope.

Thanks to Tony Hiscox for the top and bottom photographs