Money frontman Jamie Lee has never been afraid to bare his soul. His cathartic hymns, describing life, death, despair and loneliness, have made one of Manchester’s music scene’s biggest names a leading candidate for mainstream success. Standing alone in a spotlight, however, hands on hips and staring down at a silent crowd, Lee seems more vulnerable than ever. “I don’t know what you know or what you’ve read,” he says. “But I want to say thank you to the people who looked after me when I needed help. Some of whom aren’t here because of it.”
Lee’s startling speech – which refers to his problems with anxiety and alcohol – opens what quickly becomes a stunning performance. “I would have loved you all my life, or until the booze wore off,” he sings in an untitled new song, his voice raw with emotion, his words burning with longing and bitterness.
Joined by the band – now a four-piece with the addition of Nick Delap, of support band Bernard + Edith – plus a cellist and violinist, Lee’s passionate vocals turn vivid. Working their way through their new album, Suicide Songs, Money pull at the heartstrings and go for the throat on the uncomfortably jolly-sounding title track and the nihilistic, yet melodic, pop of Hopeless World. You Look Like a Sad Painting on Both Sides of the Sky sounds like Storm in Heaven-era Verve, the strings heightening Lee’s pain. He shakes his head and sways, as if struggling to contain himself.
Lee smiles often, too, through the technical issues that beset Bluebell Fields and at asking drummer Billy Byron for help in finding a note. Passion and intensity are Lee’s hallmarks, however, and as he pours both into Night Came and the brilliant, blistering All My Life, all that soul-searching seems a small price to pay.
- At the Green Door Store, Brighton, on 23 February. Box office: 07944 693214. At the 02 Ritz, Manchester, on 22 April. Box office: 0844-248 5117.
