Back when signor Marconi’s electric wireless telegraphy was dividing opinion as to whether it was a miracle or a marvel of modern science, a transmitter in Dublin powered by turf and donkeys used to broadcast popular tunes of the age. At midnight Mr David Fanning used to introduce his selection of new wax cylinders from emerging artistes with the opening bars of a song by Peter Perrett. You can probably guess what it was. 

Perrett has a new album “The Cleansing” out on November 1^st.  After almost thirty years, during which I assumed he was working as a plumber or teaching English somewhere, he returned with “How The West Was Won”, an album that stands comparison with the best of his old material. The follow up was decent rather than stellar. Drugs rather than marking homeworks was what he was up to for much of his absence from music.  His Only Ones song “The Beast” is as good a song on the subject as you will find, a blistering version of which concluded the first part of the set. 

Reflecting the fact that these matters are now an active consideration for many of his audience members, the first single from The Cleansing was “I Wanna Go With Dignity”. (Don’t we all?) The show opened with that and another new track, “Disinfectant”. This was a musician demonstrating that the new material was at the heart of the show. I didn’t recognise the majority of the songs so can’t identify the ones which caused me to exclaim “that was f***king brilliant”. The band was very tight, and the guitar in particular was thrillingly good.  

It’s probably isn’t surprising that Johnny Marr and Bobby Gillespie, musicians of a similar vintage to Perrett, are on the album. What’s good to see is that younger musicians represented by Fontaines D.C.’s Carlos O’Connell and Dream Wife guitarist Alice Go help out too. Perrett and the Only Ones didn’t have the sort of commercial success that made them household names and it is gratifying to see their influence acknowledged by people who like romantically despairing literate guitar based music. 

My only grumble was that “How The West Was Won” wasn’t played. There was a sprinkling of Only Ones songs but as a small venue performance to debut what seems to be a very strong new album, this was as good as it gets. 

Oh, and he dedicated the show to the people of Palestine, saying that he has no words to describe the horror. For one of the great English lyricists to say that we know how hellish it must be.