Yungblud – live in Southampton

Yungblud at The Engine Rooms, Southampton (15.7.2025)

Yungblud at the Engine Rooms. Really? With a capacity of up to about 800 people, today we have afternoon and evening performances here from a guy who is starting to sell out the big UK arenas for his 2026 tour. He is about to rip up the World on tour shortly and today he’s here in Southampton. (Details of the Engine Rooms venue linked here in my blog.)

It’s one of these record store album release promotions – if you’re not in on this chart massaging tactic, you pre-order an album (but don’t have to if you read carefully and a single ticket can be purchased). The purchases all count towards the first week of release charts and often a while later the artist performs a short gig of 30 mins to an hour.  Yungblud sold out this Vinilo Records promoted event within a minute and second gig was put on for the afternoon. Not sure he needed it as his last two albums peaked at number 1 in the UK chart.

Cost? I paid around £30 for a ticket with a CD and the postage.  2026 tour tickets with a huge venue and a full set and you’ll be looking at £80 – £100 easily..and no album.

I first saw him on a BBC Live Lounge recording and that stirred sufficient interest to have a listen to a bit more and when I saw the Engine Rooms tickets were about to go on sale, I was ready. (There are some more recent BBC Live Lounge videos from about a month back  – really good and include a cover of The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony.)

It’s my fourth of this type of gig – a very low key Libertines afternoon one here; Paul Heaton early session at Kingston Pryzm and a more elaborate one by The Vaccines on Southsea Pier. They don’t have support bands and you need to be prepared for a taster, no encores.

That having been said, these are great opportunities. This afternoon is a welcome blast – a short sharp injection of the future of rock’n’roll, Dominic Harrison, stage name Yungblud.

The latest release, Idols, is his fourth LP, if the kids still use that term, so success is by no means instant with 2018 being the first one. It’s the June release of Idols which is the one for me though. It’s power rock with some calmer edges. I can hear Placebo and My Chemical Romance in there. Music to wear eyeliner to perhaps and I love it.

We arrive to find a queue of around a hundred people aged 15 to 50 by a fence at the end of the road. They were the queue for the 7.30pm show not the 5.30pm one. Doors opened at 4.30pm and we rocked up shortly after for a swift queue through into the Engine Rooms – always swift. I’m feeling really ancient but am boosted by a few oldies appearing. Perhaps I should have dyed my grey hair black for the day. (I did it in Vegas once and went to an Australian Bee Gees gig. The hotel pillowcases and towels were a mess when we left. Never again despite the amusement.)

There does seem to be a broad age appeal but this clearly thins out at the upper end. Yungblud himself is 27.

Yungblud gives all the effort of a big show and screams his passionate gratitude for people turning up, supporting him on his rise and for everthing that’s happening to him. No hint of his lingering tonsillitis which cancelled shows at the end of last week.

There is a very caring, supportive, inclusive attitude he embraces and this is evident from associated social media traffic. A positive vibe.

This singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist is already recognised as a huge talent. The album credits illustrate he has written all the songs, many also credited to Matt Schultz who plays bass and also guitar and keys….and is ‘the programmer’.

On stage the others in the band are seated, so it’s only Yungblud you see above the silhouette of the crowd.

I’m propped up by the mixing desk barrier – a relief as my old bones (or knee to be precise) recover from Oasis. It’s not a bad viewpoint and the lighting is excellent for some distant zoomed pics.

Yungblud performs seven songs this afternoon, all from the 2025 Idols album. Yes, he ‘performs’ every song like it’s the climax of the set. Does he do this every night? Wow. This really is quite an eye opener. At last… a new young artist and the hype is valid.

Obviously, the audience go bonkers. A lot of the audience seem to know all the words but these can only be heard in the quieter parts as the guitar sounds are blazing.

There was no airing for my favourite track from Idols: The Greatest Parade (YouTube Official version) but Zombie is in there and the title track, part 1. Change is another epic and that rounds off this 35 minute set.

These songs are real solid rock songs and I realise why he got the recent Black Sabbath farewell gig at Villa Park, now – and Ozzy loves him it seems. The feedback from that event was so positive and that from a very traditional and mainly aging audience.

There are people in here this afternoon going to the later session as well – lucky them. We are back out into the bright afternoon sunshine – feels a bit weird.

That was 35 minutes that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

A few more pics to remind us from my mixing desk barrier vantage point: