Dean Friedman, Oran Mor, Glasgow ****

When Dean Friedman first emerged in the late 1970s, he was the absolute embodiment of the Greenwich Village loft apartment piano man – a curly‐haired purveyor of droll whimsy and unabashed sentiment, like a cross between Billy Joel, Alvy Singer and Bruno from Fame.

Friedman is clearly very talented, but commercial success proved fleeting. He only had two big hits, Ariel and Lucky Stars, but since then he’s released 14 studio albums and amassed a loyal cult following.

It’s been a strange career, as he’d be the first to admit. Who among his peers can claim to have written advertising jingles and the soundtrack for Michael Elphick’s 1980s TV starring vehicle Boon, while inspiring a song, The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman, by indie eccentrics Half Man Half Biscuit?

During this entertaining solo show, which anticipated his eight day run at the Fringe, he proved beyond all doubt that he’s still in love with his craft. He’s a singer‐songwriter, this is what he does.

Highlights included It’s My Job, a sweet and funny ode to his wife, plus the amusingly blunt I Never Really Liked You All That Much, and A Baker’s Tale, his good‐natured riposte to the Half Man Half Biscuit “tribute”.

Friedman is a genial raconteur with a story behind every song. The best one of all involved McDonald’s Girl, the lyrics of which could be deemed deeply problematic were it not for the fact that – as he stressed – it’s written from the perspective of a teenage boy.

Naturally, he closed with Ariel and Lucky Stars. The latter is a duet, so the audience heartily complied with his request that they sing the female part. Catch him at the Fringe if you can, he’s splendid company.

Dean Friedman – Words and Music is at St Andrew’s and St George’s West, Edinburgh, 13-20 August, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Music review: Dean Friedman, Oran Mor, Glasgow