BAXTER DURY – BRIGHTON DOME 21.11.25
I (Nick Linazasoro) never actually saw Ian Dury performing live. However I bumped into an old mate of mine called Terry, who used to collect signatures of famous folk and on 2nd April 1984 I was with him when he obtained Ian Dury’s autograph outside of Brighton Dome prior to Ian’s only concert at the venue. This was to be his final Brighton concert, having played at the Top Rank Suite (now PRYZM) on 19th October 1977 and 12th May 1978, as well as the Brighton Centre on 3rd July 1979 and 6th December 1980. When my mate Dave Towse sadly passed away, he had bequeathed me his extensive ticket collection and one of these is for that 6th December performance.
Ian Dury, himself, passed away on 27th March 2000 from metastatic colorectal cancer at the tender age of 57. He certainly left his legacy of a solid body of work that included his 1978 UK No.1 ‘Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick’ single with the Blockheads, and his platinum selling 1977 UK No.5 ‘New Boots and Panties!!’ album. The photograph on the front sleeve of this record was taken by Chris Gabrin outside Axfords underwear and lingerie shop at 306 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster, close to Victoria Station and the little 5 year old lad standing next to Ian is none other than his son Baxter Dury.
Wind the clocks forward and this evening Baxter, himself, is playing the very same Brighton Dome Concert Hall that his father had played 15,208 days previous on 2nd April 1984. We now call on the expertise of Gary Lawrence to talk us through events…..
He paces back and forth across the Brighton Dome stage with all the ire of a wrongly arrested man in a prison cell but Baxter Dury is guilty of nothing but spreading unabashed Friday night joy.
The Brighton stop of his nationwide tour to promote his ninth studio album, the fantastic ‘Allbarone’, has an almost full house dancing from the start and it’s not just the electro-punk beat of ‘Alpha Dog’ that gets everyone moving, it’s his compelling physicality.
He prowls around with almost manic energy, one minute shrugging his jacket off his shoulders down to the elbows and preening like some exotic bird of paradise in the midst of a mating ritual, the next gyrating into graceful tai chi poses.
The jacket is almost a co-performer in its own right – it comes off, it’s swirled around, it gets thrown off stage and then later it comes back on again.
It takes him almost an hour to say anything to the audience but there’s still an intimacy created by the endless moves and poses. He leaves all the talking to his sardonically witty lyrics, which often echo his dad’s baroque flights of fancy.
His songs, delivered with laconic, half-spoken cool, evoke a shabby sort of glamour. There are tales of edgy nightlife inhabited by louche characters, failed relationships and the hurt of being an outsider and everything he relates feels tainted by regret or dismay at its absurdity.
Never more so than on ‘Almond Milk’, where he deconstructs the mismatched components of a failing relationship. “She wants phoning, she wants leaving alone, she wants a two-storey make-up kit facial product system,” he sings.
The tracks are all laced with a similar dark, sly humour, catchy choruses and infectious beats, courtesy of keyboard player and backing vocalist Fabienne Débarre.
She and the rest of his three-piece band are excellent and their huge sound provides the platform for his flamboyant swagger. Just when you wonder whether this is all fuelled by arrogance you realise it is self-mockery driven by vulnerability.
Eight of the set’s 20 songs are from the new album, including the titular ‘Allbarone’, which comes right at the end alongside another from the release, ‘Schadenfreude’. The new songs blend well with older tracks like ‘Cocaine Man’, ‘Aylesbury Boy’ and the crowd pleasing ‘Prince Of Tears’.
He brings the night to an end with the anthemic rave-style foot stomper ‘Baxter (These Are My Friends’). “I wanna give you a big kiss on your sweaty forehead,” he sings and everyone wants to give him one back.
Baxter Dury setlist:
‘Alpha Dog’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Hapsburg’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘I’m Not Your Dog’ (from 2020 ‘The Night Chancers’ album)
‘The Night Chancers’ (from 2020 ‘The Night Chancers’ album)
‘Mockingjay’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Almond Milk’ (from 2017 ‘Prince Of Tears’ album)
‘Oi’ (from 2017 ‘Prince Of Tears’ album)
‘Aylesbury Boy’ (from 2023 ‘I Thought I Was Better Than You’ album)
‘Return Of The Sharp Heads’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Kubla Khan’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Pleasure’ (from 2014 ‘It’s A Pleasure’ album)
‘Palm Trees’ (from 2014 ‘It’s A Pleasure’ album)
‘Miami’ (a 2018 single)
‘Cocaine Man’ (from 2005 ‘Floor Show’ album)
‘Allbarone’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Schadenfreude’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
(encore)
‘Mr. W4’ (from 2025 ‘Allbarone’ album)
‘Celebrate Me’ (from 2023 ‘I Thought I Was Better Than You’ album)
‘Prince Of Tears’ (from 2017 ‘Prince Of Tears’ album)
‘Baxter (These Are My Friends)’ (Fred Again cover) (from 2022 Fred Again deluxe edition of ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)’ album)
Sounds like he is on his game.
I was there . came out with the biggest smile . he had the place rocking!!
Thanks for your comment Timothy.