In an alternative universe, one in which Glaswegian art school student Peter Capaldi realised his teenage ambition of becoming a punk rock anti-hero with his David Bowie / Talking Heads-influenced band The Dreamboys in 1977, the world might have tragically deprived of one of the greatest characters ever to grace British television screens, the foul-mouthed, short-tempered and largely terrifying spin doctor Malcolm Tucker who stole every scene written for him in Armando Iannucci's brilliant BBC political satire The Thick Of It. Oh, and the 12th incarnation of time lord Doctor Who would have looked and acted rather differently too.
But Capaldi's hugely successful and much-acclaimed acting career didn't completely erase his musical aspirations, and earlier this year the 67-year-old star released his second album, Sweet Illusions, the follow-up to his 2021 debut record St Christopher.
Last night, July 29, the actor played his first ever solo headline show, and as an unexpected treat for those packed into Glasgow's Stereo club, he threw in a rather decent cover of The Cure's 1992 hit single Friday I'm In Love.
Watch him channel his inner Robert Smith below.
Oh and did I mention Peter Capaldi closed yesterday’s gig with a cover of The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love”? pic.twitter.com/wORvikeENpJuly 29, 2025
The Cure's leader Robert Smith revealed a surprise of his own last month when he joined US singer-songwriter superstar Olivia Rodrigo onstage during her headline set at Glastonbury festival on June 29 for a collaborative performance of Friday I'm In Love, and an abbreviated Just Like Heaven.
You can judge for yourself how the duets stacked up against Capaldi's cover.
Reflecting on his short-lived and ill-fated punk rock past in an April interview with The Guardian, a relaxed Capaldi expressed no regrets at the hand life has dealt him.
"We tried and tried but we weren’t getting anywhere," he admitted. "Eventually you run out of steam because you have no money and you’re eating Pot Noodles on Christmas Day. It seemed like everybody else in Glasgow was getting signed or doing a Peel Session and we weren’t. I would get the coach down to London and go round all the record labels but nothing ever happened."
