Blancmange makes Waves in Diss

In what was an exciting departure for the Corn Hall, Blancmange brought Synth-pop to Diss, brilliantly showcasing a new album and a back catalogue stretching back forty years. The evening kicked off with Rodney Cromwell, Adam Cresswell’s retro synth project that combined arresting visuals with a sound straight out the New Order/Kraftwerk playbook, after which Neil Arthur took to the stage, flanked by two excellent musicians.

He proved to be in fine, sonorous voice, bashing out a couple of songs from the new album, Private Views, before pausing for a chat. What an affable, self-depreciating fellow he proved to be. “Are you all right at the back?” he asked of the seated contingent at the Corn Hall, before nipping off stage to go take a look for himself while the intro to the classic Feel Me played out. It was the first of a number of seminal Blancmange tunes played during the evening, but this was as far from a heritage set as you could imagine.

The quirky What’s the time? from Unfurnished Rooms was followed by the pleasingly retro Last Night I Dreamed I had a Job from the album before that, along with a generous sprinkling of entirely new material. Instead of impatiently waiting for the big hitters, Arthur’s set had your ears alert to new treats – it was telling that most of the music he played was recorded this century. That said, it would be a sorry Blancmange gig that didn’t include the classics, and sure enough along the way we got Blind Vision, Waves and best of all the hilarious sing-along to that famous instrumental bit in Living on the Ceiling. All of which left both Arthur and his audience grinning from ear to ear.