Tuesday 02 November 2021

Monday 01 November 2021. RICHARD ASHCROFT + DJ support live at The Royal Albert Hall. After selling out two shows at The Palladium in October, RA adds an extra London show. Richard was the frontman of The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. Songs he wrote for the band include "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "Lucky Man", and the UK number one "The Drugs Don't Work", so will be great to hear all three played live again. I have seen him a few times before , including The Forum on his last UK tour, Dec 2018. ------------------ At 7.30pm the DJ support played 60 mins of tunes....I was in time to see it but I bumped into a couple of friends and chatted in the corridor instead of seeing the DJ. RICHARD ASHCROFT arrives on stage at 9pm and plays for 1 hour 40 mins. The venue is fully rammed sold out, by the time all these fans have come out of the bars. RA & band are joined by a nine piece string section for the entire show. RA is wearing a very glittery jacket , that sparkles when the spotlights are shon on it. Richard steps onto the stage with a cool wry smile, with the all-familiar pout and swagger still in evidence. Several classic Verve tracks played tonight in the setlist. The boozed up crowd are singing along loudly. The finale arrives and it is mega as Richard sings one of the best songs of the 1990s – obviously it’s "Bitter Sweet Symphony", an extended version, and Ashcroft introduces his eldest son on guitar. The strings are sublime, a powerful performance full of emotion and hope, building to a roof-raising crescendo, it couldn’t be more perfect. A great show. Full RICHARD ASHCROFT setlist played tonight... Sonnet (The Verve song) Out of My Body Space and Time (The Verve song) A Song for the Lovers Weeping Willow (The Verve song) One Day (The Verve song) Break the Night With Colour Velvet Morning (The Verve song) The Drugs Don't Work (The Verve song) Hold On Lucky Man (The Verve song) Encore: C'mon People (We're Making It Now) Music Is Power Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve song)

Posted 2nd November 2021