Doll By Doll – Music Machine, London

Live review of a concert at the Music Machine in London (autumn 1979). Westwood distinguishes Doll by Doll from other “expressionists”: the band do what they must, not what they want; their music of fear, violence and romance (“Butcher Boy”, “The Human Face”, “Palace of Love”) is communication rather than pose. The performance was unusually relaxed and free of shock moments; the band are “the realest” he has ever seen, but need time, which the rock business gives no one. Tone: hymnic.