Concert Review: Razorlight at Stereo, London, U.K.

Chris Griffiths
4 hours ago
4 min read

Marking the twentieth anniversary of their self-titled album, Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows of British indie sensations Razorlight delivered an incredible surprise performance at Covent Garden’s Stereo. The evening was an acoustic celebration of stories and songs from around the album, combined with some of their earlier hits.

Having announced the show just a week before, the band offered a ballot for tickets within their fanbase. This led to a room full of dedicated fans of the band, not to mention long term fan and friend of the band, Gavin and Stacey creator James Corden.

Johnny and Andy took to the stage, each armed with an acoustic guitar and played Golden Touch (their breakout hit from 2004). Johnny spoke of their early days and he had thought that after that song they already thought that they had made it. However, as their fame increased and they found themselves sharing the Live8 stage with living legends of the music industry they knew they had to capitalise with a new album. Andy joined the band, and a songwriting relationship between he and Johnny developed quickly.

Next, they played the opening track of the album In the Morning. Andy took a seat and turned the guitar over, playing percussion on the back of the body. The crowd filled the room with singing at each chorus. This was followed by Before I Fall to Pieces, where they revealed that the songs on this album were written by the two of them in bed sit in Cornwall. Andy had come up with the riff of the song before it all came together. As they came to the closing of the song, Johnny called for the crowd to come together with hand claps and singing - a true stadium finish.

An audience member asked; "What’s it like being back together?" and before Johnny could answer, Andy broke into a short rendition of More Than Words, then a touch of Wonderful Tonight. Johnny then asked what tracks people would like to hear, the first request being Los Angeles Waltz. Johnny reflected on his ability to write music at a time he felt he could barely tie his own shoelaces: "I was like, give me some Velcro - but here's a hit record.

"Who Needs Love, another popular track from the album was played next, then from another audience request they went into the popular early release Stumble and Fall which was met with incredible cheers. They followed this with Somewhere Else, before the subject of their biggest hit America came into conversation.

Written over three days downtime in Columbus, Ohio; Johnny had been inspired by the story of Sinead O’Connor’s hit single Nothing Compares 2U. Once she was able to celebrate the songs success she then revealed that the song was written by none other than Prince. The demo of America was passed on to their publishers to sell it on, however after six months it was yet to be used. Later on, he applied an old riff to it and evolved it to the song we know. Taking a moment to thank the audience for attending, Johnny and Andy performed America with full crowd participation, putting a meaningful finish on a perfect evening.

Johnny and Andy fell out for over a decade after the band's peak, so a night like this celebrating their successes and bringing the writing partnership, and more importantly an old friendship back together was as much heartwarming as it was nostalgic.