RAZORLIGHT + ZOE HAYTER – KOMEDIA, BRIGHTON 22.1.024
Razorlight should need little or no introduction, as their music dominated a certain period of the early noughties, and were on the tip of the tongue of many an indie music fan at the time. Formed in 2002 by formidable lead singer/guitarist Johnny Borrell, they inhabited the same London breathing space as their friends, The Libertines (so much so, that Johnny was mistaken for one of their band members on a few occasions). They released three very popular studio albums and enjoyed the successes of many hit singles, including the earworms ‘In The Morning’ and ‘America’. The choruses of those two particular hits are a good indication of the band’s ability to write catchy songs. After getting signed to Mercury Records, they released their breakthrough debut album in the form of ‘Up All Night’ (2004), which made everyone sit up and take notice. Their second self named ‘Razorlight’ album also did well and saw them tour the world as well as getting them shows with the likes of The Who, Queen (with Paul Rodgers) and The Rolling Stones along the way. After the release of the band’s third album (‘Slipway Fires’) the band decided to call it a day.
Fast forward to the year 2021, and we witness the announcement that Razorlight are back and ready to tread the boards again. They soon realised after a few comeback shows, that they didn’t want to be considered just a greatest hits band, so new material was on the cards too. With the help of Youth (Killing Joke amongst many others) at the controls, the band holed themselves away in a studio in Spain and created their new album, ‘Planet Nowhere’, which is due for release this Friday 25th October. Their lead off single, ‘Scared Of Nothing’ has proven that the band have lost none of their flair towards writing a good tune.
Of course, this all brings us to today. With the announcement of a string of intimate shows around the UK, Brighton was to be treated to a Razorlight performance at the 415 capacity Komedia, and you could say that if you were going to this, you had indeed got yourself a golden ticket. This was in fact the ‘Citizens Of Planet Nowhere’ tour and the lucky Brighton few were in high anticipation for the night ahead. Personally, I hadn’t seen the band since they played their monumental gig on Brighton beach in 2006 (Can you believe?) so I was looking forward to seeing Razorlight in an intimate setting.
The band line up tonight would be Johnny Borrell (vocals and guitar), Bjorn Agren (guitar), Carl Delemo (bass), Andy Burrows (drums) and Reni Lane (keyboards). This reunion line up is incidentally the personnel that played on the band’s second and third albums, with the exception of Reni Lane.
Upon entering the Komedia, we were predictably confronted with a very full room (this whole tour is a sell out), and as 9pm arrived, a crew member flashed his torch at the soundman and the lights suddenly dimmed. The enthusiastic crowd cheered as the band ran on stage and propelled themselves straight into the jaunty ‘Rip It Up’ from the group’s first album. It was immediately apparent that Razorlight were very tight in the musicianship department and the venue’s sound was crisper than a new packet of McCoys. Johnny Borrell seemed to be totally up for it tonight and the band were not about to rest on their laurels as they played trump card by song two, by the name of ‘In The Morning’. This was one of their big hit singles back in the day, and I knew that the opening line would be implanted firmly onto my brain for at least 24 hours afterwards. It was now time to take a peak at a few new songs from Razorlight’s new album (‘Planet Nowhere’) in the form of the keyboard led single, ‘Zombie Love’. This song is a poppy affair and is already very familiar with the fans tonight, while they waited patiently for the album’s release date to come along (October 25th).
Another big hit for the band that I had forgotten about was ‘Golden Touch’ which is a catchy little number that the audience were more than happy to lap up. Andy Burrows on the drums was a relentless ball of energy tonight, and you could just about make him out through the blur of his own arms and hair. It was also nice to be front of stage from an audience perspective, and check out the band’s skills too, up close. It was indeed a friendly crowd tonight, who were more than happy to dance on the spot and sing along to their favourite songs (minus the shoving). ‘Scared Of Nothing’ is another single from the new album and it sounded good in a live scenario, especially with added Reni Lane on the keyboards. There were a plethora of effects boxes on stage and Johnny got handed a new guitar before almost every song. He strummed his acoustic and then ditched his guitars completely, as he jumped around the stage and sang directly into the crowd’s faces. ‘In The City’ was the song which saw the band completely rock out by the end in a ‘Jonathan Richman meets Patti Smith’ style. At this time, the crowd were almost as sweaty as the band, and Razorlight were not about to let up.
It’s a shame that the night was coming to an end, but not before they treated us to a few more nuggets from their repertoire. Johnny Borrell was of course central to the performance, but second guitarist Bjorn Agren looked like he was having the time of his life as he span around in a circle (mid strum). Carl Delemo on the low notes (bass guitar) looked blissed out too, in his ‘Weezer’ T-shirt. ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ (from their second album) was the last song of the main set tonight.
The crowd were in fine spirits as they shouted for more, and Johnny Borrell and the gang answered that call by jumping back on the stage to deliver us a three song encore.
‘Good Night’ was appropriately one of the songs, which reminded me of the classic ‘Steppin’ Stone’ song made famous by both The Monkees and The Sex Pistols. Razorlight looked like they were glowing at this point of the night and looked happy to be here. Of course, the final song was ‘America’ which was another one of their big hits of course. The crowd joined in with the band as they stripped the chorus down to its bare bones, and before you knew it, the band had said its farewells and vacated the stage. It was a bold move to go on such an intimate tour (while promoting an album that wasn’t quite out yet), but it all went down a storm. It was an honour for many fans to see Razorlight in such a small venue, and it is an occasion you probably will not witness again in a hurry. The big venues beckon again, from here on in!
Razorlight:
Johnny Borrell – vocals, guitar
Bjorn Agren – guitar
Carl Delemo – bass
Andy Burrows – drums
Reni Lane – keyboards
Razorlight setlist :
‘Rip It Up’ (from 2004 ‘Up All Night’ album)
‘In The Morning’ (from 2006 ‘Razorlight’ album)
‘Zombie Love’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Taylor Swift = US Soft Propaganda’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Golden Touch’ (from 2004 ‘Up All Night’ album)
‘F.O.B.F’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Scared Of Nothing’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘April Ends’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘In The City’ (from 2004 ‘Up All Night’ album)
‘Los Angeles Waltz’ (from 2006 ‘Razorlight’ album)
‘(Don’t Go Back To) Dalston’ (from 2004 ‘Up All Night’ album)
‘Dirty Luck’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Cool People’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Empire Service’ (from 2024 ‘Planet Nowhere’ album)
‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ (from 2006 ‘Razorlight’ album)
(encore)
‘Vice’ (from 2004 ‘Up All Night’ album)
‘Good Night’ (from 2018 ‘Olympus Sleeping’ album)
‘America’ (from 2006 ‘Razorlight’ album)
The opener for tonight’s gig (and the whole of this intimate tour, come to that) is Zoe Hayter. She is an English/Czech singer and songwriter, and actress too. She grew up around the theatre and started performing by the time she was 13 years of age. At 14 years old, she had formed a band and released her debut album called ‘Only Breathing’ which was funded by the money she had raised whilst busking on the streets of Prague. A year later, she began to play solo and has performed ever since. She released her first solo single in 2019 by the name of ‘High Expectations’ which was met with favourable reviews. She also performs theatrically with the Footsbarn Travelling Theatre Company, which took in a residency at Glastonbury Festival, which in turn got them BBC coverage on TV.
Zoe Hayter took to the stage and the room was already full by this point. She had a captured Razorlight audience and she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. Zoe began her set (armed with just her trusty acoustic guitar) and played a song called ‘Cutting Corners’. It is a rocking indie kind of tune, that builds up to an anthemic climax, which was rewarded with big applause from the audience gathered here tonight. These songs had an intimate feel and next up was ‘Are You Just A Friend?’ from her recently released ‘Raw’ album. ‘Aging Clown’ was another one from the album (and a memorable one at that), with its catchy chorus, “A rocking chair is pretty good for an aging clown, but not right now”. The next song was a very mellow number called ‘Side Effect’, which was in turn followed by Zoe’s final song of the night, ‘All Souls’ Day’. She sang and strummed her guitar, and even played the harmonica at the same time, in true Bob Dylan fashion. Zoe Hayter got a deserved warm reception for tonight’s performance, and is certainly an act to watch out for.
Zoe Hayer:
Zoe Hayter – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Zoe Hayter setlist:
‘Cutting Corners’
‘Are You Just A Friend?’
‘Aging Clown’
‘Side Effect’
‘All Souls’ Day’
