Photo Credit: James D Kelly

As part of their ‘Stadium Anthems’ tour, Welsh rock legends STEREOPHONICS made the trip to West Yorkshire’s Huddersfield, bringing all the hits to the John Smith’s Stadium as well as a dazzle of new material from their chart topping album ‘Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry, Make ‘Em Wait’.

Making the short journey from Stockport, just two years on from their last Huddersfield visit, BLOSSOMS are still riding the way from the success of their #1 record ‘Gary‘. The lads are very accustomed to performing on the big stages now, from festival headline slots to various stadium supports, this is where the band really thrive. The stadium was almost at full capacity at this point, and BLOSSOMS stepped out to a huge cheer from the crowd. Makin the most of the time that they had, the Stockport band packed their set list full of fan favourites, taken from four of their records, beginning with ‘Perfect Me‘ to kick things off.

A true performer in his own right, Tom Ogden has quickly becoming one of the UK’s most entertaining frontman of the last decade. A Jarvis Cocker-esque approach is delivered with every performance which has attracted crowds of all ages to BLOSSOMS shows. The band continued their set in style, ‘Honey Sweet‘ elevated the bands elegancy to a new level while ‘If You Think This Is Real Life‘ picked up the tempo once more. The band flourished from the crowds energy for ‘Your Girlfriend‘ and Ogden’s narrative about the fibreglass gorilla was hilarious, as he then paid homage to the story that sparked the name of not only their latest record, but also the next track. BLOSSOMS wrapped up their show with ‘Charlemagne‘ to bow out of Huddersfield in grand fashion and perfectly warmed up the crowd ahead of the ‘phonics.

The stadium was still illuminated by the sun, but the stage lights dimmed, and the crowd erupted as they prepared for one of the most spectacular bands of the past three decades. In preparation for an evening full of ‘Stadium Anthems‘, STEREOPHONICS took their places on stage one by one. ‘Vegas Two Times‘ served as the first song to entice the crowd to join in, but it wasn’t until ‘Have A Nice Day‘ that had everyone in the stadium joining in. The band is still as tight as ever, and it is truly amazing how they can produce a flawless, record-like sound in a such a huge setting like a stadium.

Then came the lead single from their most recent album, which slowed down the tempo and gave the audience a brief respite. ‘There’s Always Gonna Be Something’ has obviously touched a lot of people as a huge section of the audience joined in on this relaxing track, and as ‘Just Looking’ and ‘Pick A Part That’s New’ came next, the energy picked back up again, drawing the audience to join in for yet another set of anthems.

‘Maybe Tomorrow‘ came around to keep the excitement up after Kelly Jones unravelled to the Huddersfield audience a story about a tour with David Bowie across the United States. ‘I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio‘ was then toned down to a ukulele rendition, which gave the song a fresh new vitality. Additional big hits like ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith‘ and ‘Mr. Writer‘ followed, but it was the band’s first single, ‘Local Boy in the Photograph‘, that brought the cheers back and the audience joined in as loudly as they could, setting up ‘C’est La Vie‘ for an emphatic conclusion—at least for the time being.

There were still two more to come. STEREOPHONICS returned to the stage for ‘Bartender and the Thief‘, followed by a pyrotechnic display to warm up the already scorching audience for the final time. Concluding with their biggest hit to date, ‘Dakota’ completed the performance . On the last set of choruses, Jones allowed the audience to take over, almost matching the power of his voice. Bowing out of their Huddersfield show after a hit filled two hour set, STEREOPHONICS solidified their status once again as one of the most beloved British acts of all time.