Sounds April 15, 1978
The first thought that came to mind was that he was like a cross between Mark Perry and John Cooper Clarke, which ought to be the supreme compliment!
But he deviates from these two in that the target of his rather bitter humour is rarely, if ever, himself.
Perry, while unable to offer any solution, can at least see that he isn't necessarlly part of it and appears to be aware of the contradictions in his position. Cooper Clarke combines his humour with humility and is funniest when telling of his own injury at the hands of a karate expert.
It's true that Patrik Fitzgerald sings about the odious state of his living quarters ('My Room Smells') but reserves his best wit for a diatribe against 'The Bingo Crowd' in which he identifies a problem but makes no attempt to analyse its cauces. He evidently sees the bingo crowd as mindless blockheads but wouldn't it be better to go one stage further to the reasons? Likewise with 'Trendy' - capitalist fashion concerns should be attacked, not their victims.
But to be more positive he clearly has a strong following and basically (2-3 un-intelligble words on copy). It was pretty (2-3 more un-intelligble) perform between two bands at the Marquee. For those who don't know Fitzgerald half sings, half intones songs of either a comic or caustic nature, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar. Sometimes there is no accompanyment at all. 'Jarvis' for example is a straight poem - a tale of a psychopathic old man - with a wonderfully gory conclusion.
Fitzgerald delivers his lines with a throwaway sneer that doesn't go with the cherubic face and ruddy cheeks. At the Marquee he didn't indulge in much patter between songs (which was a pity because I'll bet he's really good when he gets going), but to judge by the hordes of people who rushed to the stage as soon as he came on, he makes on the personality that comes through in his songs alone.
The singel 'Safety Pin Stuck In My Heart' was boisterously received and he also played 'Back Street Boys' which will apparantly be his next single and which is more serious. The fact that he can do non-humourous material, and so well, shows that he isn't just some kind of weirdo oddball.
The concert was one of the best things, a short and very effective prologue (?) on punk.
LINDSEY BOYD