It was a great night for rock music in the capitol, and whilst the Black Crowes were laying waste across town to Hammersmith, Bryan Adams was making his tenth trip to the equally legendary grand façade of the Royal Albert Hall.
Bryan Adams
Royal Albert Hall – 15 May 2024
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Katarina Oresanska
On the third and final night of a residency, the Canadian closed his latest trip to the venue with an evening that brought together a run-through of the latest album, So Happy It Hurts and then topped the evening with a greatest hits and fan favourites half that proved a suitably triumphant climax to the visit.
As Adams himself modestly put, what we had here was a bar band that got lucky. But this was one that had some world-class songs and great musicianship, and Keith Scott, a longtime friend and guitarist, was by his side. 
These ancient walls have heard some high-decibel rackets before, but when the band tore into opener Kick Ass the gloves were well and truly off, the rumbunctious number shaking the dust from the ceiling. With crystal clear sound all evening, the adrenaline surge of On The Road and the old school rock ‘n’ roll beat of I’ve Been Looking For You got the multi-generational audience moving, all willing to succumb to the midweek escapism of the music.
As a breather from the kinetic energy, the gentle reggae swing of Always Have, Always Will provided a chance to sway, and when the London Community Gospel Choir joined the band for Never Gonna Rain and You Lift Me Up, the soul-drenched honey of their voices turned every soul into a believer. 
More light and shade came with pneumatic rocker Just About Gone being followed by an acoustic stripped back and heartfelt These Are The Moments That Make Up My Life before the title track of the album and an inflatable car floating around the hall brought the first section to a suitably euphoric end.
If things had been lively for the primary section of the night, the second half was where things truly took off, with one anthem after another. From the bounce of Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, the first of the singalongs with Somebody and the primal 18 Til I Die it was all go, big ballad Please Forgive Me, a sea of mobile phone lights and choral vocals from the assembled throng.
Tearing up the place with guitar hero feedback and the stomp of a rocket fuelled The Kids Wanna Rock, the band really clicked into higher gear and a faster, more uptempo take on Heaven put a different light on the much-loved ballad.
With a touching tribute to old friend Tina Turner in It’s Only Love, the song containing snatches of Simply The Best and What’s Love Got to Do with It ramping things up, another stripped-back acoustic section was a pause for breath for the big finish. Despite the weariness it engendered at the time with its constant stay at the top of the charts, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You still sounds magnificent, its heart-on-sleeve passion incredibly moving, and there were more than a few tears shed amongst the audience. 
With the superbly constructed Run to You, the tumultuous Summer of ’69 and the irresistible Cuts Like A Knife taking the roof off the room, it was down to a thankful Adams closing the night with an acoustic All For Love, the number highlighting the bonds not just between performer and audience but between every soul present.
A very special and unifying evening by one of the best bar bands in the world, Adams and Co., knocked this out of the park. Incredible.
