Photo Credit: Press

In honour of his latest album, ‘Roll with the Punches‘, Canadian rock star BRYAN ADAMS made his return to the UK, bringing all the hits and brand-new material to Leeds. Known for his legendary singles, innumerable sold out shows across the globe and a performance that continues to deliver effortlessly four decades on, ADAMS‘ return to Yorkshire was one that won’t easily be forgotten about.

An inflatable boxing glove that honours the album’s title started to float around the arena before the show began, approaching the seats for a true punch to the face experience. However, the main event didn’t take long to come around. BRYAN ADAMS and his band made their way on to the stage, with a 28-song set list to get through, there was very little time to waste. Opening with the albums title track, the boxing glove made its way around the venue, with those in the seats watching in awe at the eye level inflatable. Guitarist Keith Scott was already stealing the show as his mind blowing guitar solos and audience participation gripped the crowd early on.

‘18 ’til I Die‘ had the entire arena singing along, with the chorus growing louder as the song progressed, while ‘Heaven’ raised the fans’ voices even further to BRYAN‘s delight. Before ‘It’s Only Love‘ came around, BRYAN told the story of how he first met the iconic Tina Turner, and how he was lucky enough to collaborate with her on the track, with a huge applauses filling the arena for a clear favourite from ‘Reckless‘. Further stories here told, this time of how he visited Australia and filmed a horse running along the beach, which was used as the back drop during the performance of ‘Here I Am‘. Giving the audience some control now, a fan request of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whiskey In A Jar‘ made it on to the set list to pick up the energy once again before bringing it down a notch for the emotional ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It for You‘, which saw everyone stand up from their seats as the entire arena was illuminated with phone torches to create a stunning scene.

It was time for another inflatable to cross the crowd; this time, it was a car that resembled the ‘So Happy It Hurts‘ music video. The balloon was practically touching the people in the seating area, and before everyone knew it, the iconic ‘Summer of 69‘ came around. Naturally, everyone in the room was up on their feet, singing along, and giving the song everything they had left in their voices for one of the most iconic songs to date.

Concluded his outstanding return to Leeds, ADAMS rounded off the night in style with ‘All for Love’. Despite their not being Rod Stewart or Sting feature on the night, it gave BRYAN one last chance to see off the night in style and he certainly didn’t disappoint.