A bundle of energy. A whirling dervish. A crazy lady. An outspoken liberated woman. A (nearly) middle-aged lady who has rediscovered herself after a painful marriage breakup. Paloma Faith was a revelation to me. I must admit that I was not at all familiar with her music or attitude and went along out of interest and with an open mind.
To say my mind was blown away by the lady herself is an understatement. I bought a T-shirt with the words: “Eat Shit and Die” emblazoned on the front. That sort of sums up the show and the attitude of this explosive performer. I have not dared wear the T-shirt yet!
So, Elaine, my friend Norman and I went along, not really knowing what to expect, to Newcastle City Hall to experience Paloma Faith in the flesh. And, we all agreed, that it was a pretty wild experience. I bought a couple of programmes (see image towards the left).
The tour and new album were announced thus on her official website: “Paloma Faith has announced the details of her sixth studio album, The Glorification of Sadness out on 16th February via RCA Records and a UK Tour in support of her upcoming album.……. Paloma shared the news of her new album release date and inspiration with a personal note to her fans letting them know she was “…Looking forward to sharing this new era.” The Glorification of Sadness is more than an album about relationships. The celebration of finding your way back after leaving a long-term relationship, being empowered even in your failures, and taking responsibility for your own happiness. It is her most personal album to date, drawing on her own experiences with Paloma acting as the anchor to direct a deeply personal narrative and album.”
The show was in two parts with a short interval. No support act. In the first half Paloma was a raving blonde, talking a lot about the breakup of her relationship with her former husband. She went into a lot of detail about how her newly found freedom had liberated her as she entered her early 40s.
The lady has found herself again and is enjoying life and not afraid to tell us all about her experiences, each song relating to the “glorification” of her sadness. Lots of very personal insights into her (not so recent really, 2009) marriage breakup and how through her sadness she has found a new life and empowerment. Loads of swearing, very personal stories, some on the verge of shock. At one point he was even bumping and grinding with one of the male guys in her band. Marvellous!
Also from the same website: “Paloma Faith is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and TV personality, as well as one of the UK’s best-loved musical artists. London-born Paloma has released five critically acclaimed platinum-selling albums since 2009, beginning with her debut, Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? As well as collecting dozens of awards in the last decade, including a BRIT Award, Paloma has reached a wider audience as a judge on The Voice UK as well as The Voice Kids, and as an actor in films such as Pennyworth, St Trinian’s and The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.” A very accomplished lady.
The show intrigued me and tempted me to find out more about the enigma that is Paloma Faith. To the extent that I have ordered myself a signed copy of her yet to be released (semi-) autobiography: MILF: Motherhood, Identity, Love and F*ckery (I told you she is outspoken). Waterstones site announces the publication of the book thus: “The iconic singer and actress delivers her own unique take on motherhood and how it correlates to what it means to be a woman in this fierce, funny and passionate volume.”
“Can women have it all? What does it mean to be a woman and a mother in the modern age? In this passionate, funny, and fierce polemic, Paloma Faith delves deep into the issues that face women today, from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of patriarchy and the Supermum myth. Infused with Paloma’s characteristic humour and raw honesty about the challenges of IVF and the early years of motherhood, this book is a beautiful celebration of women’s work, and the invisible load women carry.”
Paloma requested staff to put on all of the house lights. And she asked us all to shine the torches on our cell phones. A beautiful image! Returning to the book description: “Moving from questions around identity and how motherhood impacts on that, to what it even means to be a “good mother”, how we need to embrace messiness, imperfection, and the bittersweet pleasures of being “selfish” and putting ourselves first. Paloma invites us into her own coming of age and relationship with her mum, to explore how our bonds with our children evolve into adulthood. We see a glimpse of the complexities and joys of Paloma’s experience of juggling romantic love, heartbreak and dating with the demands of motherhood.”
Paloma confided in us all that her daughter was sometimes in trouble at school for using the F word, which her mother often used in conversation to her. Paloma seemed quite proud of this fact. The first set, having been devoted to the new album and her aforementioned marriage breakup, was followed by a short interval and the second set comprising her better-known songs from her previous repertoire. Just as she completed the first set Paloma told the sell-out crowd that her favourite word was C**T and that the merchandise stall was selling baseball caps with that controversial word emblazoned on the front. During the interval everyone rushed and queued up at the merchandise stand to buy the aforementioned baseball caps. I decided to stick with my T-shirt. Not very brave.
As the second half started, I could see that everyone was wearing their baseball caps. This time Paloma emerged in her more natural dark hair, and a beautiful catsuit. Still very much a raw talent who exploded back, right into our faces with a clutch of chart hits, many of which were still unfamiliar to me. However, I readily embraced her music and her continued manic performance. Elaine, Norman, and I all agreed it was a marvellous introduction to an intriguing, complex and fascinating performer. Thanks to Elaine for the photographs and Chris Paul once again manipulating the site to enable me to produce this blog. I remain very behind in my blogging activities, but I will slowly catch up. Please bear with me.
Setlist: Set 1: How You Leave a Man; God in a Dress; Bad Woman; Divorce; Say My Name; I Am Enough; Already Broken; Hate When You’re Happy; Enjoy Yourself; Cry on the Dance Floor; Eat Shit and Die; Let It Ride; Sweatpants.
Set 2: Stone Cold Sober; Picking Up The Pieces; Crybaby; Upside Down; Gold; Can’t Rely on You; Lullaby; Changing; Only Love Can Hurt Like This.