Swordfishtrombones Revisited

,Barbican Hall
Running time
An illustration of the guests for Swordfishtrombones Revisited in the style of the record artwork

David Coulter presents the world premiere of his re-interpretation of Tom Waits’ darkest, boldest record with guests including Matthew E White, Nadine Shah, Soap&Skin, Dorian Wood and Lisa O’Neill.

Released in 1983, Swordfishtrombones marked a new chapter in Tom Waits’ career as he drifted away from the piano jazz club atmospheres towards darker inspirations. This radical change of direction towards experimental rock became one of the seminal musical landmarks of the 1980s.

Mercurial multi-instrumentalist and composer David Coulter has worked with Waits as well as other artists such as Gorillaz, Kronos Quartet, Marianne Faithfull and The Pogues. He is also a curator of adventurous musical performances such as Rain Dogs Revisited, David Lynch Revisited and Jim Jarmusch Revisited. He is joined on stage by some of the UK’s finest musicians on stage including members of Polar Bear, The Invisible and more.

Tagged with: Contemporary music

This performance will start at the advertised start time and run for approx. 90-100 minutes with no interval.

Produced by the Barbican

Performers

David Coulter musical director, musical saw, guitar, percussion
Nadine Shah vocals
Matthew E White vocals
Soap&Skin vocals
Lisa O'Neill vocals
Dorian Wood vocals
Terry Edwards saxophones, trumpet
Dave Okumu guitar
Tom Herbert bass
Pete Saunders piano
Thomas Bloch ondes martenot
Seb Rochford drums

Programme

Read the programme for this gig here.

Membership for trailblazers

Be one step ahead with priority booking, invitations to members-only events and special offers on selected performances
The benefits

Discover

Photo of Swordfishtrombones album cover

Listen: Swordfishtrombones

Take a listen to American singer-songwriter Tom Waits' first self-produced album Swordfishtrombones, which he released back in September 1983.

microdinesy in hall

Barbican Sessions: Microdisney

 

For our latest Barbican Session, Irish rock band Microdisney perform their song 'Dolly' in the Barbican Exhibition Halls.

Photo of Nils Frahm performing at the Barbican

Listen: Barbican Recommends

Not sure what to listen to? Every month we update our Barbican Recommends Spotify playlist with what we've been listening to in the office. Expect everything from Actress and Arcade Fire to Kamasi Washington and Omar Souleyman. 

You might also like...

Barbican Hall