Q – I read in a recent Portugal blog about the concert in Amadora of Lloyd speaking some Portuguese and wondered how and if shows are tailored to different audiences. When in Sweden do you have many Swedish phrases or change song words to apply to the area? Fool You Are with its many place names; does it ever get its lyrics changed to apply to the country you are performing it? Are there songs you feel you need to add to playlists in different parts of the world or cities, perhaps because they were written in that part of the world or for other reasons?
A – What did they say about my Portuguese? It is awful when you consider that I’ve been going there for 24 years! I do always try to apologise in the native tongue, that I cannot speak it, I will sometimes humiliate myself by trying to introduce a song – Ce chanson s’appel… etc. I can bluff a little French.
Certain songs did better in certain countries – in Portugal, I believe Jennifer She Said may be my most popular tune… in Sweden my first two solo records did much better than in the rest of the world, and so on.
I have always enjoyed fooling around with the lyrics in live performance, sometimes to the detriment of the show, I’m afraid. I thought changing Cosmopolitan to Manchester Guardian was cute the first time I thought of it in Manchester (yes, the Guardian used to come from Manchester). The play I do most regularly these days is in Undressed – I change Rome to somewhere near where I am. In Atlanta last week I was able to insert Augusta. In Glasgow on time I thought of Barhead, complete with Glasgow pronunciation – Borheed.