By Fred Spanner
Beards, Beats, and Boredom
Photography- Tom Beard
Son of punk poet Ian Dury, Baxter has carved out his own lane. Less chip off the old block; more raconteur with a synth beat. He’s the bloke in the corner of the bar telling you tales of heartbreak, hangovers, and high-rise misadventures, all with a cheeky grin on his face. From cult albums to cult status, he’s become one of music’s most stylishly sleazy voices.
Baxter is unleashing his new album, Allbarone, later this year, which showcases his move to a slightly dancier vibe. The album was produced by Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & The Machine), the first album he’s worked on in over five years. This coincides with a huge European tour, kicking off in Belfast and finishing in Lisbon later this year.
I just had a sneak preview of your brilliant new song, Allbarone, the title track from your forthcoming album. I got swept away by the thought of going to this wonderful tropical island, but I have a sneaky suspicion it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I believe it was based on a depressing evening you once spent in All Bar One?
“It’s a kind of auto-fiction, I guess. Everything I do is borderline-confessional and merges into a tale with a bit more drama in it. I try not to bookend too much into the lyrics, otherwise there’s too much going on. You want to serve the song ultimately, look for the phrases that are melodic to the story, and then break it up and project it.
“My songs are usually based on a true story, then broken up and made into a bit of a joke. A lot of them tend to poke fun at me, really. It’s a bit fun, but also a bit sad.”
You seem to be really enjoying yourself in the Allbarone video. Do you feel more like dancing nowadays?
“I guess it’s part of what happens on stage. As I don’t play anything, I have to move about a bit more. I’ve turned it into a kind of Berlin interpretive modern ballet. Like a weird future Tai Chi. Like most things, the originality is born out of the fear of boredom, and it’s something I feel comfortable doing now.
“I think they were planning to shoot me quietly on a gondola, but I just got up and started dancing. Then all these old folks walking along the canal started singing along to the song, so clearly it worked for them.”
The collab with Paul Epworth seems to have paid off.
“He’s a great producer, and he’s known for producing successful pop music. It doesn’t usually connect with the avant-garde. His interests are varied. I’d got the artistic bit covered, and he framed it in a different way. He’s very knowledgeable when it comes to dance music.”
Does the rest of the album have a similar vibe?
“Yes, it’s up-tempo, and there’s plenty going on, but it still sounds like one of my records. It just has a different edge to it.”
So, you’re still being lyrically honest, but a bit ‘cloak and dagger’ at the same time?
“I guess so. There are some phrases in my lyrics that people want answers to, and then I don’t give them. At the time, I felt impassioned to write something, and a few months later, I don’t know what I was on about. It’s not that I don’t know at the time. Writing songs is a bit like painting, where people find meaning in them. It’s about capturing a moment.”
In the movie Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, it showed you as having quite a turbulent upbringing. How close was it to real life?
“There was a lot of artistic licence in it. It described the journey, but certainly not word-for-word.”
I’m guessing your biography, Chaise Longue, was a more accurate depiction. Was it a positive experience, writing it all down?
“I’d never written a book before in my life, so that was quite good. But it can be dangerous territory. Your view of the world can be different from everyone else's. What I remember might not be what everyone else does, so I’m always getting questioned. You might not be able to remember everything, but you’re trying to give a picture of life as it was.
“You can’t be that honest, either. But for the bulk of the words I’d written, I was really impressed. I was quite proud of myself. “
Do you think your slightly unconventional upbringing helped or hindered you as you got older?
“I don’t think you can really say one or the other. In some ways, I was privileged. There were lots of good experiences and plenty of love there. On the other hand, there were things in there that you wouldn’t want to repeat. People change, and you can’t get stuck in the past.
“It’s like the Nepo baby thing. How much did it actually help me to be the son of a famous rock star? Some of it helped, and some of it didn’t. I was jealous of some people’s lives because of how calm they were, and there were people who were envious of my crazy childhood.”
Could there be a Chaise Longue Part 2?
“I did sign a second book deal and took the money. I haven’t written it yet. They’re getting a bit uptight, and I wonder at which point they’re going to ask for their money back.
“It would have to be radically fictionalised, cos I really couldn’t address some of the things that have happened since. There are some sensitive subjects. The first book was much easier. It would have to be a story based on events that might have happened, that suggest what it was like.
“I’m very unimpressed by the exploits of men in their thirties. All these cliches of what guys get up to, I just find it so dull and boring. Not that I wasn’t up to no good, but I just want to find another angle on it.”
You’ve toured with Noel Gallagher. How did that go?
“Noel was really charming. The way he runs his crew is great. He’s definitely the boss. Those kinds of tours are difficult because the crowd is there for Noel, and they’re not going to always love me. You learn a lot about performing in difficult conditions from those tours. You’ve got 11,000 blokes all there to see ‘Oasis’ and then they get me, they can get pretty wound up. The projectiles couldn’t reach me, but the air of hostility did.
“Noel, his band, and his crew were really lovely, and I liked that aspect of it. But, it wasn’t the most joyous place to be on stage.”
You have a European tour coming up. Are you looking forward to wowing the crowds again?
“Yeah, I think so. We’ll have to wait to see how the album is received. However good you think it is, you can never be sure. It’s a tough world out there, and it’s harder to get on the radio these days. I feel we made something quite brilliant, effortlessly. If there’s a positive amount of attention on the albums and singles, it makes touring so much easier.”
Something tells me this will be his biggest success yet. Allbarone is out on 12th September.
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