Peter Capaldi has covered The Cure’s ‘Friday I’m In Love’ during his headline set in Glasgow last night.
There he leant all the way into his current run as a part-time musician with a full-time love for slightly sad pop music. The show took place at Stereo, where Capaldi performed tracks from his two solo albums alongside the cover, which was delivered with a straight face and a decent grasp of melody.
The choice of song raised a few eyebrows considering Capaldi is better known for barking orders in a Westminster corridor or fiddling with the controls of a TARDIS, but this is actually far from his first attempt at crossing over.
Just last month, he joined Franz Ferdinand on stage at Glastonbury to perform Take Me Out, after front man Alex Kapranos invited him via a mutual friend of theirs. Upon receiving the invitation, Capaldi had assumed there was some novelty angle involving Doctor Who or a themed track off the band’s new record. Instead, they handed him a mic and told him to sing their biggest hit. He accepted on the spot and managed to hold his own, which seemed to surprise everyone including himself for that matter.
Capaldi’s version of Friday I’m In Love came off more like a quiet nod than an attempt to reinvent anything. It was nostalgic, which fits with how he’s described his recent material. I mean like not in the sentimental, polished way that often gets paraded around pop releases, but in a rain-soaked, grey-glassed Glasgow from the late 1970s kind of way. He still loads up his music with fat guitars and old synths, and while he plays it down in interviews, there’s clearly effort and intention behind it.
The Cure have been everywhere again lately, especially after Robert Smith joined Olivia Rodrigo on stage at Glastonbury. Capaldi’s performance didn’t have that level of production or polish, but it had enough charm and sincerity to earn its place in the setlist. It was not groundbreaking, but it was genuine, which is more than enough.
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