EDWYN COLLINS + GLASS CHEQUES + BAYVIEW – DABADABA, SAN SEBASTIÁN, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN 1.5.26
The Dabadaba music venue at Mundaiz 8, bajo, 20012 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain is a treasure for the local community and beyond. Tucked away at the rear of the railway station, they operate a manifesto which is in line with Brighton music venues. Their website statement translates as “Dabadaba is an inclusive space and deeply intolerant of sexist, homophobic, racist, classist and unfair attitudes”. To my knowledge, it is one of only two grassroots concert venues in the vicinity that is flying the flag for independent music. The other being Le Bukowski taberna which I’m told has a CBGB’s vibe going down.
Dabadaba internally reminds me of the long lost Jenkinson’s venue which used to be sandwiched between the Top Rank Suite (now PRYZM) and the Brighton Centre. Nowadays I guess the nearest would be The Hope & Ruin, but the Dabadaba music room is on street level. Punters enter the venue via a narrow corridor with quality graffiti on either side of the walls, which sadly has been partially ruined by some tagging. It has the feeling of going down the tunnel to a football stadium.
Talking of which, the local team is called Real Sociedad, and their ground is only a short distance away and their blue and white striped kit is very similar to Brighton & Hove Albion’s. They have very recently won Spain’s Copa Del Rey, beating Atlético Madrid 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time. Hopefully this is a good omen for Seagulls success this year!
Tonight will be the Basque’s final opportunity to catch Edwyn Collins in action, as he is calling it a day after this. Thus the 10-date jaunt is labelled “The testimonial tour – a last lap around Spain”. The band’s opening night was logically in Bilbao where the airport is, and this evening is their second date. From here they call in at Zaragoza, València, Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Cádiz, Santiago De Compostela, and finally Ourense.
This evening’s gig in San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) is a sold out event. I would guesstimate the capacity lies close to 300. Therefore the room is full and the atmosphere in the air is buzzing. The punters are a mixed bunch, but a larger majority would be classed as middle aged.
We purchase our liquid refreshments (the local IPA) and head down to the front of the room. The stage is raised so everyone present can see the musicians in action. There’s ground floor speakers beneath the stage that pump out the vibrations against my legs. The atmosphere is chilled and I note a lady on the opposite side of the stage is actually sitting on it. I throw caution to the wind and do the same on my side, and thankfully no-one bats an eyelid. I’ve found my spot for the night. There are two support acts, but more from them shortly…..
At 9:30pm Edwyn Collins and his band take to the stage as The Mekons ‘Where Were You?’ briefly blasts out across the room. We are in their company for the next 76 minutes, until 10:46pm. During this time we are rewarded with 17 Edwyn Collins and Orange Juice compositions.
On stage we have, seated centre front the great man himself who obviously takes care of lead vocals duties as well as a harmonica on one occasion. He has two bottles of water which he can dive into when required, and the setlist lyrics are in a folder in front of him, just in case, although I’m actually not aware that he ever glanced at it! Behind Edwyn are a quintet of players, these being from my left to right Patrick Ralla (Gretsch guitar with tremolo), Carwyn Ellis (Fender Mustang bass, acoustic guitar, M-Audio KeyRig 25 Musical MIDI Keyboard Controller With USB, backing vocals), Jake Hutton (drums), Andy Hacket (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals) and Sean Reed (Roland VK-8 combo organ, Nord Stage 2 keys, saxophone, backing vocals, tambourine, shakers). On the rear of the stage is a stage-wide backdrop that reads “Edwyn Collins” in solid red writing with continual white dots inside the red. There are eight circular lights hanging around the stage, which annoyingly are set to burnout red, far too often than preferred, thus the photos are shot in black and white.
Edwyn greets the crowd “Hello San Sebastián, good to see you!”. He then goes onto say “Long time ago….‘Falling And Laughing’” which is an Orange Juice track found on their ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ album. It’s a funky post-punk number which benefits from Edwyn’s distinctive vocal delivery. For the history books, Edwyn disbanded Orange Juice back in 1985, after releasing four albums and then he began his solo career. His third solo album, ‘Gorgeous George’, spawned his global smash hit, ‘A Girl Like You’. After 12 years of making and producing records for himself and many other artists in his West Heath Studios in London, in 2005 Edwyn suffered a serious brain haemorrhage which hospitalised him for six months and necessitated a rehabilitation period lasting several years. Alongside language and mobility restrictions, as a result of the loss of use of his right arm, Edwyn could no longer play the guitar as he had. Thankfully he’s kept at it, and I’d say his voice is as good as it ever was!
Tune two tonight is ‘Dying Day’ which is found on the same LP as the opener. Next up are two cuts from his 1994 solo ‘Gorgeous George’ album in the form of the melodic ‘Make Me Feel Again’ with its pleasant keys, and the slower, more considered ‘The Campaign For Real Rock’, which has an early 1970s David Bowie feel to it, with the guitars holding the song expertly together. There’s some notable tremolo action on his Gretsch from Patrick, and the standout lyrics for me were “Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival”. After these Edwyn introduces “a new song”, it’s the sole cut this evening from last year’s ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’ album, the tune in question is ‘Knowledge’ which has a slow almost Americana sound to it.
Edwyn next introduces ‘The Wheels Of Love’ which he informs us appeared on his debut solo album (‘Hope And Despair’) back in 1989. This is a melodic offering which successfully carries on from where Orange Juice signed off. On its completion, Edwyn turns around and says “Patrick, what a solo”, in reference to Patrick Ralla’s standout section on his Gretsch guitar with tremolo action. It’s back to Orange Juice again with the arrival of ‘What Presence?!’ from 1984’s self-titled record, which begins with a big crescendo intro which shakes the floor speakers below me. This then gives way to the finger-clicking head-bobbing beat, which notably includes some much appreciated saxophone parts by Sean Reed.
Edwyn’s heart is clearly filled with joy as he proudly announces the arrival of his son William to accompany him on vocals for ‘In Your Eyes’ from 2010’s ‘Losing Sleep’ album. This makes Edwyn’s face beam with joy, there’s clearly a wonderful bond here. I pick out some guitar twang action within this track that reminds me of some early New Order compositions. Partway through the number, William leans over and gives his dad a peck on his head, which added to the magic of the performance, as to the Basque’s family is everything!
William vacates the stage and the musicians move onto a trio of Orange Juice tunes commencing with ‘Intuition Told Me (Part 1)’ which is found on 1982’s ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ album. This features Edwyn on vocals accompanied by Patrick on Gretsch guitar, and they segue straight into the 1980 Orange Juice single ‘Simply Thrilled Honey’, and then it’s time for the timeless earworm that is the title track from 1982’s ‘Rip It Up’ album. For this Edwyn stands up and delivers his vocals with aplomb. As everyone knows, it’s a funky tune and so the saxophone gets another outing, and Carwyn Ellis switches from his bass guitar to the as yet unused M-Audio KeyRig 25 Musical MIDI Keyboard Controller With USB. It goes without saying that this is a true highlight of the performance and the punters reward the musicians accordingly, with Edwyn’s reply “Thank you, you are a lovely audience” and indeed they are!
Edwyn remains standing for the rockin’ ‘Don’t Shilly Shally’ which is found on 2014’s ‘The Possibilities Are Endless’ album by Edwyn Collins, Carwyn Ellis And Sebastian Lewsley. It proves a popular selection and certain members of the audience clap along with the beat. The final number from the main set, is arguably the one tune that everyone in the room seriously wants to hear, this being the legendary ‘A Girl Like You’ from 1994’s ‘Gorgeous George’ album. With Edwyn still standing, the track is given its dues with some notable Roland keys and funky Fender guitar action. Edwyn then carefully leaves the stage as the quintet carries on finishing off the tune. As you would expect there’s now a very happy house full of souls and they are shouting “abesti bat gehiago”, which means “one more song” in Basque.
The crowd certainly get more than they bargained for, as they are in fact treated to a further four songs, instead of just the one! Edwyn takes his seat and they begin to play the quiet ‘Low Expectations’ from 1994’s ‘Gorgeous George’ record, which features Edwyn’s vocals, Andy Hacket on acoustic guitar, and a very light tinkling of the Roland VK-8 combo organ keys by Sean Reed, prior to Patrick’s Gretsch coming to the party. You literally could have heard a pin drop during this song, as the crowd stood motionless and lapped up the notes. Edwyn plays his harmonica near the end of the tune, which sees the crowd erupt with “whoops”.
Tune fifteen of the seventeen is the title track from 2007’s ‘Home Again’ album, which is another quiet composition which has a Gretsch guitar solo from Patrick, and Sean’s on backing vocals at the start. There’s absolute silence from the crowd and then the other musicians come in. This one has the feeling of longing and wanting to be at home with summer breeze in your hair. Sean then adds a shaker to the beat. The penultimate offering is my favourite tune of the set, this being Orange Juice’s ‘Felicity’ from 1982’s ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’. Interestingly, The Wedding Present covered this in their first John Peel Session, back on 26th February 1986, and it clearly gave listeners a positive impression as the recording made it to No.36 in that year’s John Peel’s Festive Fifty. Orange Juice, however, didn’t record it for either of their own John Peel Sessions.
The night came to an end with the performance of the retro sounding 1980 Orange Juice ‘Blue Boy’ single, which was certainly a big hit with the crowd. Edwyn vacates the stage to hearty applause and cheers as the band plays on for a short while. Many punters then make their way to the merch stall, which is a sign of a successful night, however, the family I’m with know many people on the local scene and much after gig banter is shared with many folk. One of these being a guy called Ruben who has been to many gigs here at Dabadaba down the years and he told me that “this was the best concert I’ve ever seen here!”. Job done then lads…“Zorionak!”.
Edwyn Collins:
Edwyn Collins – lead vocals, harmonica
Sean Reed – keys, saxophone, backing vocals, tambourine, shakers
Jake Hutton – drums
Carwyn Ellis – bass, acoustic guitar, mini-keys, backing vocals
Andy Hacket – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Patrick Ralla – electric guitar
Will Collins aka Maxwell – backing vocals
Edwyn Collins setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘Where Were You?’ by The Mekons
‘Falling And Laughing’ (from 1982 ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ Orange Juice album)
‘Dying Day’ (from 1982 ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ Orange Juice album)
‘Make Me Feel Again’ (from 1994 ‘Gorgeous George’ album)
‘The Campaign For Real Rock’ (from 1994 ‘Gorgeous George’ album)
‘Knowledge’ (from 2025 ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’ album)
‘The Wheels Of Love’ (from 1989 ‘Hope And Despair’ album)
‘What Presence?!’ (from 1984 ‘The Orange Juice’ Orange Juice album)
‘In Your Eyes’ (with Will Collins aka Maxwell) (from 2010 ‘Losing Sleep’ album)
‘Intuition Told Me (Part 1)’ (from 1982 ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ Orange Juice album)
‘Simply Thrilled Honey’ (a 1980 Orange Juice single)
‘Rip It Up’ (from 1982 ‘Rip It Up’ Orange Juice album)
‘Don’t Shilly Shally’ (from 2014 ‘The Possibilities Are Endless’ Edwyn Collins, Carwyn Ellis And Sebastian Lewsley album)
‘A Girl Like You’ (from 1994 ‘Gorgeous George’ album)
(encore)
‘Low Expectations’ (from 1994 ‘Gorgeous George’ album)
‘Home Again’ (from 2007 ‘Home Again’ album)
‘Felicity’ (from 1982 ‘You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’ Orange Juice album)
‘Blue Boy’ (from 1980 ‘Blue Boy’ / ‘Love Sick’ Orange Juice single)
Opening up proceedings this evening are Bayview who are led by Maxwell aka Will Collins, who just happens to be Edwyn’s son. Maxwell takes care of lead vocals as well as Fender Musicmaster bass guitar duties. Accompanying him are Liam Hutton on drums and backing vocals, as well as either Jack Benfield or Lyle Turnbull on guitar. They were a quartet when I witnessed them live back on 3rd October last year, but this time around one of the guitarists is missing. Bayview are a London based outfit and we are in their company for a mere 18 minutes, and in that time the quartet give us a handful of tunes which run from 8:29pm to 8:47pm.
There’s no time for messing about this evening, and so the lads immediately dive into their 2025 ‘Daniel San’ single, which features some notable twangy guitar action. At this point the venue isn’t yet at full capacity, but a majority of the Basque’s are present and raring to go. Maxwell welcomes the crowd with “Hola, we are Bayview”, and they perform their latest single ‘Forget About It’, which is a rockin’ knee-jerker of a tune, and Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ springs to mind. Selection three is last year’s ‘Crimes’ single, which Maxwell kicks off with a bass strum. Last time around I noted that fans of Dire Straits ‘Sultans Of Swing’ and Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s ‘Into The Great Wide Open’, would be fond of this track.
Their penultimate selection is last year’s ‘Free Speech’ single, which was, for me, the standout tune of the performance. This begins with an intro strum and drumbeat and bands on the mighty Glasgow-based independent record label Postcard Records spring to mind. Maxwell says “This is our last song and enjoy Edwyn Collins” and they conclude their set with ‘Go Getter’ which is from 2020’s ‘Ringing In My Ear’ single. It’s a bit of an earworm with “You’re a go getter, trend setter yeah” being the standout line. The bass is most prominent here, and it’s a great rockin’ number to end on.
Bayview:
Will Collins aka Maxwell – vocals, bass
Liam Hutton – drums, backing vocals
Lyle Turnbull or Jack Benfield – guitar
Bayview setlist:
‘Daniel San’ (a 2025 single)
‘Forget About It’ (a 2026 single)
‘Crimes’ (a 2025 single)
‘Free Speech’ (a 2025 single)
‘Go Getter’ (from 2020 ‘Ringing In My Ear’ single)
After a mere 4 minute turnaround we find ourselves in the company of Glasgow’s Glass Cheques which is the brainchild of Jamie Keenan (vocals, guitar) and Darren McCaughey (guitar), who this evening are joined by
Callum Brand (bass) and Liam Shaw (drums). We are in their company for a mere 19 minutes, from 8:51pm to 9:10pm and they too present us with a taster handful of tracks. They are a relatively new band, who has thus far dropped two singles, but on 31st May they are hosting a debut EP release party in their home city, in support of their 12” purple 6-tune self-titled platter – details HERE.
As soon as the lads take to the stage Jamie in the gravelly voice says “Hello San Sebastián, we are Glass Cheques from Glasgow. It’s a pleasure to be here” and they launch into the first of four cuts from their record, this being ‘(Crocodile) Done Deal’. I immediately sense that they are going to be offering a heavier sound than the opening act. Curly-haired Jamie is an infectious character, and at the song’s end rasped “eskerrik asko, thank you”, with eskerrik asko actually meaning “thank you” in Basque – someone’s done his homework! Track two, ‘Escape The Satellite’, is an unreleased track and Jamie informs us that “this second song is about watching too much telly”. I find it less immediate than their opener.
According to the setlist on the floor, the next tune should be ‘Only You’ but due to time constraints it gets bypassed and the lads fly onto ‘Blue Ragdoll’, which he informs us “this is about a cat”. Jamie’s vocals are really powerful during this track, and certainly grabs the punters attention. We are then told that Glass Cheques are a new band who have just released two singles, and this is one of them….they play ‘The Dardanelles’ which is also on the forthcoming EP. Jamie then encouraged the crowd to buy their singles, so that they could travel on to Zaragoza. Jamie states that “It’s been a brilliant night, I hope you enjoy Edwyn Collins”, and the guys finish their set with ‘Shame’ which has a slow vocal and guitar intro which is similar to early 1970s Rod Stewart. There’s some notable guitar foot-pedal action going on here as the tune grows in intensity and they clearly win more fans along the way. It’s an enjoyable debut encounter with the drums being the beating heart of the band.
Glass Cheques:
Jamie Keenan – vocals, guitar
Darren McCaughey – guitar
Callum Brand – bass, backing vocals
Liam Shaw – drums
Glass Cheques setlist:
‘(Crocodile) Done Deal’ (from forthcoming ‘Glass Cheques’ EP)
‘Escape The Satellite’ (unreleased)
‘Blue Ragdoll’ (from forthcoming ‘Glass Cheques’ EP)
‘The Dardanelles’ (a 2026 single & from forthcoming ‘Glass Cheques’ EP)
‘Shame’ (from forthcoming ‘Glass Cheques’ EP)
