Jo and FingerHalo appeared on TV last night (Friday) to perform the tracks from their debut single – and took a special guest with them for the evening.
Frontman David V McCallum held up a paraffin lamp that anyone who grew up in Scotland in the 1970s and 80s will recognise, and told the audience: “Paladin – back on STV for one night only!”
Paladin was the talking light who co-presented Cartoon Cavalcade on the station until 1992, alongside icon Glen Michael.
FingerHalo burned through a rendition of their track Confusion – see it below – before returning to deliver One For The Angels, which will be the A-side of their first release, due over the summer.
In a sofa chat with Riverside Show presenters David Farrell and Jennifer Reoch, Jo said of his latest project: “It’s kind of back to my roots. I started out as a guitar player then got involved with the electronic music stuff. The Rezillos reformed, and I did that with them for a while – but I thought it was time to do something different.”
Asked about Human League anthem Don’t You Want Me, Jo recalled: “It sort of takes you by surprise. You’re just writing and recording. Everyone in the band just saw it as another track on the album.
“The people in the record company picked up on it. We didn’t see it at first – various people were saying, ‘That should be the hit single.’ We were like, ‘Oh yeah?’ But we trusted their judgement, thankfully.”
He also paid tribute to the late B.B. King, who died on May 14. Calling him a “great influence,” Jo added: “He had a great innings, 89 years, and he was playing almost right up to the end.”
FingerHalo – Callis, McCallum, John Clark Paterson and Martin Kielty – open for Party Fears Three at Edinburgh’s Liquid Room on May 30 then play Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Bandstand on June 28.