Echobelly debuted in the early 1990s and is a duo made up of Sonya Madan and Glenn Johansson. They are known for their indie-rock/ ‘Britpop’ style as well as the contrasts they had with other stereotypical Britpop bands at the time which were particularly saturated with white men. They took a hiatus of five 5 years in the 2010s before returning with two new albums in 2017 and 2018. In the latter half of 2024, they took to a comprehensive UK tour with 16 dates in total. I was going for both me and my mother who was such a big fan back in the 1990s and managed to see them twice when they were at their peak. I was so excited to be able to see such a legendary band.
Blue Violet were the chosen support for this tour and as they strutted on stage, they really lit up The Crescent. They are also a duo made up of Sarah McGrigor and Sam Gotley with the former being the band’s lead vocalist. Sarah adorned bright red satin trousers covered in brightly coloured lips, it was something I had not seen since the late 2000s and it really brought me back to my childhood. Just from a quick glance, you could tell they brought something new to the indie rock scene.
Their set included complex basslines, three-part harmonies and even a switch in the lead singers where McGrigor and Gotley switched within a few songs. They closed with such a powerful song, ‘Human After All’, which had the whole crowd chanting “I am only human after all!”, such a brilliant way to get the crowd moving. Blue Violet’s new album, Faux Animaux, is set to be released 24 January which just so happens to be Sam Gotley and their supporting band member, Martin’s birthdays. They have also just released their new single: ‘Fire’. With less than 9,000 monthly listeners, this new band has already made a name for themselves by opening for Echobelly!
Echobelly then took the stage and the crowd immediately perked up as they opened with ‘I Can’t Imagine the World Without Me’, a track from their debut album. Madan immediately made her wishes for this concert known, she commented on how there’s a competition for those that sing the loudest and most enthusiastically, as well as telling off someone who was filming for extended periods of time by putting her hand over his camera and wagging her finger at him. From then on, the crowd were all closely attentive to Madan.
The set consisted of such a varied range of songs from their discography as it crossed five of their seven albums, mostly coming from their most popular album, On, their second album that was released in 1995 and reached number four in the UK charts. One of my highlights from the set was the acoustic versions of the two tracks ‘Worms and Angels’ and ‘Insomniac’. They were such gentle and intimate moments in the show which made the crowd reflect and demonstrated to me that this tour was not for the fans, but for Echobelly. Madan paid so much attention to the crowd, smiling at everyone, looking all the way to the back, and pointing to the most enthusiastic crowd members to commend their effort. The main set ended with ‘Scream’ which had the crowd hooked on every note with Madan’s refrain of “there's no heaven in the sky” and the repetition of “you kill me” over crashing cymbals and Johansson’s charged guitar solo.
The encore included their most famous track ‘King of the Kerb’, a track called ‘Giving It All’ from Madan and Johansson’s side project called Calm of Zero, and closed with ‘Dark Therapy’. The set, overall, seemed so raw and vulnerable with Madan being her honest self by explicitly exploring themes of anorexia, mental health, climate change and the female experience in the music industry. Madan seemed so at home and comfortable on the stage, rocking back and forth, really feeling and listening to the music. Unfortunately, a few women were not listening to her commentary of trying to find space as a women of colour in the British music scene and were having a very loud conversation. So much so, they were told by Madan to be quiet.
I had a brilliant evening with Echobelly, it was such a thrilling performance that showcased the past 30 years of their career. Madan’s stage presence gripped the crowd as she unapologetically displayed the highlights of her and Johannson’s shared discography. What an outstanding performance.