By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Saturday 9 July 2022
Five surprises of the day: 1. Hearing Urban Cookie Collective play The Key: The Secret live during the Megamix section. Singer Danielle Barnett is also a life coach and public speaker!
By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Sunday 10 July 2022, touring until 11 September 2022
SETLIST: Wild Boys; Invisible; All Of You; View To A Kill; Notorious; Pressure Off; Union Of The Snake; Come Undone; Give It All Up; Hungry Like The Wolf; Friends Of Mine; Ordinary World; Tonight United; Planet Earth; Hold Back the Rain; The Reflex; White Lines; Girls On Film/Acceptable In The 80s; Save A Prayer; Rio
A lifelong Durannie. I mostly only sing along to the first two albums, plus a few extras I like. Yes, I’m one of those fans.
By Aline Mahrud
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Monday 4 July, touring until 18 September 2022
SETLIST: No Small Thing; The Tipping Point; Everybody Wants To Rule The World; Secret World; Sowing The Seeds Of Love; Long, Long, Long Time; Break The Man; My Demons; Rivers Of Mercy; Mad World; Suffer The Children; Woman In Chains; Badman’s Song; Pale Shelter; Break It Down Again; Head Over Heels/Broken; Change; Shout
‘Funny how – time flies.’ The last time Tears For Fears played in Shepherd’s Bush in south-west London it was to mime to the edit of single Sowing The Seeds Of Love in 1989 for BBC1’s Wogan.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
This was the 1st Glastonbury Festival since 2019, the 1st 1 since it turned 50 years old in 2020 – and it didn’t disappoint.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHEN?: Saturday 4 June 2022
We’ll be at Glastonbury Festival in 3 weeks’ time and we wouldn’t be surprised if Macy Gray pitches up on the strength of this 4pm main stage slot during which she absolutely achieves the goal of getting this 25,000-strong capacity party started.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Thursday 2 June 2022, tour runs to 18 March 2023
SETLIST: Leader Of A New Regime; Homemade Dynamite; Buzzcut Season; Stoned At The Nail Salon; Fallen Fruit; The Path; California; Ribs; Hard Feelings; Dominoes; Loveless; Liability; Secrets From A Girl; Mood Ring; Sober; Supercut; Perfect Places; Solar Power; Green Light; Oceanic Feeling; Helen Of Troy; Royals; Team
There is a moment during the piano-led ballad Liability when the music goes quiet three-quarters of the way through, a fan shouts ‘We love you’, Lorde looks genuinelly moved and the crowd responds with a crescendo of applause.
By Aline Mahrud
WORTH A LOOK?: ***
WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, booking until 28 May 2023
SETLIST: The Visitors; Hole In Your Soul; SOS; Knowing Me, Knowing You; Chiquitita; Fernando; Mamma Mia; Does Your Mother Know?; Eagle; Lay All Your Love On Me; Summer Night City; Gimme Gimme Gimme; Voulez Vouz; When All’s Said And Done; Don’t Shut Me Down; I Still Have Faith In You; Waterloo; Dancing Queen; Thank You For The Music; The Winner Takes It All
Can 2 seemingly opposed theories co-exist? Could this celebration of live music be its biggest threat?
By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Saturday 28 May 2022, tour runs to 6 October 2022
My admissions pre-review: I’m a sort of fair weather Heaven 17 fan plus akin to Princess Di’s statement that there were three people in her marriage, there are three people in my relationship. Me, Mr Humdrum and Martyn Ware.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN?: Thursday 26 May 2022, tour runs until 12 November 2022
SETLIST: Night Call; Sweet Talker; Consequences; Sooner Or Later; Shine; Muscle; Play; Sunlight; Sanctify; Worship/Rendezvous; Desire; Hallucination; Up In Flames; Here; 20 Minutes; Eyes Shut; It’s A Sin; Crave; Starstruck; If You’re Over Me; King
Years and Years’ frontman Olly Alexander appears onstage in a see-through telephone box singing Night Call, the title track of his new 3rd album, and it immediately makes us think of Doctor Who.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Sunday 22 May 2022, tour runs until 16 October 2022
SETLIST: Suburbia; Can You Forgive Her?; Opportunities; Where The Streets Have No Name; Rent; I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore; So Hard; Left To My Own Devices; Single – Bilingual; Domino Dancing; Monkey Business; New York City Boy; You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk; Jealousy; Love Comes Quickly; Losing My Mind; You Were Always On My Mind; Dreamland; Heart; It’s Alright; Vocal; What Have I Done To Deserve This?; Go West; It’s A Sin; West End Girls; Being Boring
We popped our Pet Shop Boys live cherry in 1989 at the old Wembley Arena and this greatest hits gig means we’ve seen the duo, we think, 14 times across each of the last 5 decades.
