Venue:
The London Palladium
Date: 09/05/2025
My first David Gray gig was much too long coming. I have every album but, for some reason, his tours have passed me by. His music has resonated with times in my life, something which meant that, on several occasions during the set, I had something troubling in my eye.
The five musicians on stage with him all sang backing vocals which made for a lush wall of sound, while faithful drummer, Clune, demonstrated that he’s as much a part of Gray’s sound as David’s voice.
The delicate After the Harvest from the excellent new album, Dear Life, led into My Oh My and we were off to the races. I was delighted to get three tracks from Slow Motion, one of my favourite of his albums, including the wonderful Nos Da Cariad during which the pesky dust affected me greatly. White Ladder and Silver Lining reminded everyone of Gray’s golden age before the support act, Talia Rae, joined him for Plus and Minus from Dear Life. The atmosphere was building but, when Clune launched into Please Forgive Me, it’s fair to say that the audience lost its collective mind; as did Dave, laughing, dancing and yelling his way through the singalong and discovering the step down to the lower stage area; he was in his Friday night element. Babylon ended the set and finished off most of the audience, such was the absolute joy in the room.
Flame Turns Blue was the first encore and I was gone, singing the old song through tears of pain and joy as it catapulted me back to a horrible time in the mid-90’s but reminded me of what I now have as a result of it. An epic Sail Away closed the show as the audience roared its approval and Dave took out his in-ears to hear the wall of noise raining down from the three tiers of the old place.
“London; you beauties!” he yelled and was gone.
A truly life-affirming night which, coming the night after Go West’s triumphant orchestral feast in the same room, left me grinning from ear to ear.
The audience:
Plenty of Paddy’s giving it the ‘Go on, Dave,’ shout, to which he responded; “I’m definitely ‘going on’ this one.” It was a properly up-for-it Friday night London crowd; rocking and raucous and full of beer.
It made me think..
I must not wait 30 years to go and see him again; he gives good show.
Lots of phones held high. Oh it was so much better in the old days
He was the default support act at Dingwalls for a year or two. I saw him support everyone from The Fat Lady Sings to Maria McKee. I knew who he was because I’d bought Flesh, because Neill MacColl played guitar on it. He did REM’s Everybody Hurts and you could hear a pin drop.
I bought White Ladder from him from a suitcase at the edge of the stage, the next time I saw him was on a big stage at Glastonbury. Easy to forget what a massive deal he became – an overnight sensation, albeit after 5+ years of relative failure.
I haven’t really kept up, tbh.
I saw him in Paris when White Ladder was huge. He was excellent but the gig was slightly spoiled by the antics of the drummer, who spent the whole gig clowning around and gurning. Tiresome.