Badly Drawn Boy

Track	Album
Once Around The Block	The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Disillusion	The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Something To Talk About	About A Boy
This Is That New Song	One Plus One Is One
Born In The UK	Born In The UK
Promises	Born In The UK
The Time Of Times	Born In The UK
Is This A Dream?	Banana Skin Shoes
Fly On The Wall	Banana Skin Shoes
Colours	Banana Skin Shoes

Badly Drawn Boy photo 1
2002 press photo Tom Sheehan

Badly Drawn Boy playlist

Badly Drawn Boy The Hour Of Bewilderbeast 2

Contributor: Gayle Ramage

I’ve found it a struggle to create this Toppermost. Not because it was difficult to think of ten tracks to recommend to you, dear reader. On the contrary, there was simply too many great tracks to choose from. I’m someone who is drawn to the instrumentation of a song first, then I’ll focus on the lyrics at a later date after that first initial listen. Therefore, my choices are based on the music, though I have provided selected lyrics here as I have done with my previous Toppermosts.

Badly Drawn Boy – aka Damon Gough, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who came to prominence when his debut studio album, The Hour Of Bewilderbeast, won the Mercury Prize in 2000 – is an artist whose work I’ve come to quite late. In fact, it was only due to the announcement that he would be supporting Squeeze on their most recent UK tour that I decided I should get better acquainted with his discography. And as I’ve found on many occasions, it became apparent quite quickly that a lot of the songs I already knew and very much liked. I’ve put these songs in order of when they were released, either as singles or part of an album.

Once Around The Block is probably one of the songs mostly associated with Badly Drawn Boy, with that unmistakable opening riff as the song builds around it in layers. The unintrusive and wordless backing vocals bring a sense of warmth, and there’s a bit of a jazzy feel to the song with the occasional scat singing, the gentle percussion, and the slight swing to the beat. The song was originally released as a single in 1999, reaching the UK Charts Top 50. In 2000, presumably with the attention the Mercury prize win brought, the song was re-released, reaching 27.

Lyric: You quiver like a candle on fire / I’m putting you out / Maybe tonight, we could be the last shout / And I’m fascinated by your style / Your beauty will last for a while

Sometimes I’m happy to listen to a song for as long as it takes to end, other times I’m thinking “This has gone on for a bit too long now”. But the thing about Disillusion is that it already has a great vibe to it so after about three minutes, the vocals drop away and the music continues for another minute or so, with the organ, guitar and handclaps, and you can’t help but move to the beat. The album version has an intriguing transition from the more upbeat sound to a haunting piano outro, almost as if the song has become disillusioned with itself. Released in 2000, the song reached the UK charts at no. 26.

Lyric: Seems you created your own illusion / Fuelled by an image of me / Well I couldn’t stay at your side / Wouldn’t be right / A picture that I just don’t see

I couldn’t write this Toppermost without mentioning arguably the most-well known song to casual music listeners and movie goers. Something To Talk About features on the soundtrack to 2002’s British movie, About A Boy, which Damon composed the soundtrack for. When I found out Badly Drawn Boy was to be Squeeze’s support act, this was the song that first sprung to mind. Except the only lyric I could remember was “ipso facto” (not a phrase you find in a lot of songs) and I thought the song was called About A Boy. I soon learnt otherwise. Another single, released in 2002 and hitting the UK Top 30.

Lyric: I’ve been / Dreaming / Of the things I learnt about a boy who’s / leaving / Nothing else to chance again

Sometimes it’s hard to describe exactly why you like a song so much, sometimes you just do. Everything comes together – the production, the melody, the vocals, the energy – to form something that you just get pleasure from listening to. I think with This Is That New Song I appreciate the melancholic tone that flows through the entire thing, with the ever-dependable strings playing a big part.

Lyric: If I knew where all the tears were coming from / add up all the years that you’ve been gone / This is that new song / I told you about 20 years ago

Born In The UK is a pun on Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen, an idol of Damon’s. This track begins with a satirical snippet of the UK national anthem before descending into what is arguably the most rock-like track in the Badly Drawn Boy discography. Here, we take a look at the good and bad of the country, reflecting on the disillusionment with national pride.

Lyric: Then you see the Union Jack / And it means nothing

There are a lot of hooky melodies in the works of Badly Drawn Boy, whether it’s a vocal melody or the instrumentation. And they’re not necessarily complex melodies, either. Promises has a simple piano riff that repeats as the song builds, weaving the strings in. We don’t hear any percussion until halfway through the track. I sort of need to recommend the Reverso68 Remix of this track as it’s a cracker, too.

Lyric: Just remember you will remember / Promises last forever / Still left of the dying embers / The fire that burns so slowly

This slice of folk-pop from the Born In The UK album reflects the idea of squandered time. The Time Of Times bears a musical similarity to The Shining from the same album. There’s a slight intensity building in the music which doesn’t ultimately go anywhere. Instead, it recedes back, like reflecting on unfulfilled opportunities.

Lyric: And your head feels like your body / Your mind is close behind / There’s a teardrop on your shoulder / Says this is the time of times

Is This A Dream? is taken from the most recent album, 2020’s Banana Skin Shoes (surely a nod to Billy Connolly’s 1970s footwear). It’s a confident track, which reflects the strength of the album as a whole, with a jaunty sound to the verses and a great, radio-friendly chorus you’d struggle not to sing along with.

Lyric: Is this a dream? / It’s like a disease that we all catch in our sleep / Am I in your dream? / We gotta stop waiting for the apples to fall / And give me some love

Fly On The Wall, another track taken from Banana Skin Shoes, channels a 70s vibe with its upbeat keyboard riff. With the strings coming in strong for the chorus, it becomes one of the few Badly Drawn Boy tracks you can genuinely dance to. The lo-fi music box outro ties into the nostalgic feel of the song.

Lyric: Tell me, have you suffered yet / Like a Suffragette / Don’t take it lying down / You’d better stand up, for the family / Like Emily

There’s a menacing tone to the music of Colours from the Banana Skin Shoes album. This is a more synth-orientated track compared to some of his other work. I’ve noticed that sometimes Damon has his lead vocals quite far back in the mix but it’s nice to hear them more in the foreground here. Overall, this really is a very strong album and it’s a shame it’s not more widely known.

Lyric: I see colours / The sound of your heartbeat / Running through my mind / I hear colours / From the second our hearts meet / Music to my eyes