A one-line review of the other half of the gigs I’ve been to in May 2025

This monthly series is probably as much for my benefit as yours. I go to a lot of gigs and it is nice to have a way to remember them all. Maybe your interest will be piqued by one of the reviews. Maybe you’ll scroll straight past. Maybe you’ll unsubscribe thinking what did I see in this blog in the first place? You can find all of my one-line gig reviews here.

Andy Bell (the one from Erasure, not the one from Ride and Oasis), O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 16 May – I’ve never been fussed to really check out his solo stuff before, but with no Erasure tour on the horizon at the moment I popped along. He played most of his new album, but the other half of the set was an Erasure greatest hits so by five songs in he had already broken out Blue Savannah, Drama! and Sometimes. He is such an entertainer. What a night.

[Andy Bell (the one from Erasure, not the one from Ride and Oasis) at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London]

Eurovision, The Guardian’s website, 17 May – I appreciate YMMV with Eurovision, but live blogging it for the Guardian is always one of the highlights of my year. Exhausting and hectic but also silly fun. As I put it on the night …

JJ is reprising his winning song, which was my favourite this year, just as Nemo was last year, so maybe the message here is ultimately if you can produce a Eurovision entry that will appeal to a fiftysomething Guardian live blogger, you are sorted.

Andy Bell (the one from Erasure, not the one from Ride and Oasis, for a second time), Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 19 May – Yes I enjoyed it so much on the Friday, that on the Saturday I just splashed out and bought a ticket to see him do it all again in a different city on the Monday, and this time got right down the front. I’ve bought a ticket to go and see him at Brighton Pride as well. One of my children keeps asking me if I’m secretly gay.

Kissing People, Roundhouse, London, 22 May – Fairly standard indie fare but they said it was only their fifth ever gig WTF, fifth ever gig is at the Roundhouse, mental.

[Kissing People at Roundhouse, London]

Supergrass, Roundhouse, London, 22 May – I cannot have seen them since the 90s, they were playing the debut album in full which I used to cane on the decks when I worked at Reckless Records at the time, plus a few other greatest hits, everybody in the room loved them to bits and I had a great time.

[Supergrass at Roundhouse, London]

And then I went to the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park and, christ, I have seen a lot of bands this month. Easily the best thing was NADINE FUCKIN’ SHAH, but I also saw – and these are links to those one-line reviews – RIP Magic, Yuuf, Acopia, Gaye Su Akyol, Hello Mary, Sextile, Gurriers, Warmduscher, an unexpected Jeremy Corbyn interlude, Bdrmm, English Teacher, Sprints, CMAT, Patriarchy and one other band I couldn’t identify because reasons (the reasons being Red Stripe and cocktails). Of those Hello Mary and Patriarchy hit the sweet spot of “I’d never heard of this band before and now I will never miss one of their London gigs”. Also NADINE FUCKIN’ SHAH – as I wrote: “Honestly my favourite new solo artist of the last decade. Such an incredible performer live and everything is out on her sleeve.”

[NADINE FUCKIN’ SHAH at Wide Awake Festival, Brockwell Park]

Love and Dancing – an evening of eighties cool cuts, classics and curve balls, Trades Hall, Walthamstow, 24 May – Just on my feet for three hours dancing non-stop to a set that included playing some of the original 12″ mixes just like it would have been back in the day from DJ Steve Proctor. So much fun.

An Entirely MAD! Conversation with Rob Brydon & SPARKS!, Union Chapel, London, 25 May – Rob Brydon was an inspired choice to host this, as it was very relaxed, he was great with the crowd, clearly loves his Sparks, and the boys were just so funny throughout. Bless them. I only really got into them in 2014 and I think they should have been my favourite band my entire life^*.

[Rob Brydon, Russell Mael and Ron Mael at the Union Chapel]

RiffRaff Kabarett, Trades Hall, Walthamstow, 27 May – They say “Dark Weimar x Working Class Punkery” and it was a queer blast and exactly what I needed. One of my children keeps asking me if I’m secretly gay etc etc …

Mary In The Junkyard, 02 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, 29 May – One of those bands that Spotify’s algorithm keeps foisting on me, I could see a bit more why from watching them live rather than on record.

[Mary In The Junkyard at 02 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester]

Wet Leg, 02 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, 29 May – I couldn’t go to either London night because of clashes and childcare, but I didn’t want to miss this tour, where you get to hear a load of songs from the second album live before you’ve heard the recorded version. It’s the fourth time I’ve seen them and they just get harder and louder and better live. It must be said that Rhian’s transformation from folk horror bumpkin to musclebound-barely-dressed-sex-person is … certainly a lot. Got right down the front and was stood behind one absolute hero doing god’s work with waving a fan all the way through.

[Wet Leg are in this picture somewhere, I promise]

I went wearing The Fall t-shirt that I purchased last time I was at the Victoria Warehouse, in 2017, when I saw The Fall and Mark E Smith for the very last time.

Holly Johnson, Cliffs Pavillion, Southend-on-sea, 31 May – Just one of the most underwhelming and disappointing gigs I’ve been to in years sadly. A phoned-in performance via autocue, no repartee with the crowd, and he’d ordered the bars shut while he was on stage so you couldn’t even drink your way through it.

[This sign had more energy to it than the performance]

Find all of my one-line gig reviews here. Part one of May is here.

^*[Depeche Mode, The Cure, The The, Gary Numan and the Manics have entered the chat]