Glenn Hughes has always been a phenomenal artist, although for some, he is the epitome of the marmite musician. I know many who admire him, and several who struggle to listen. Thankfully, for me anyway, I am in the former camp, and at 74, Glenn Hughes remains one of the most intriguing and enjoyable artists around today. His catalogue is huge, varied and contains many gems.
Glenn Hughes – Sophie Lloyd
O2 Academy Bristol – 14 October 2025
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
“This is the most important night of my life,” says Glenn Hughes, 15 minutes into his set. He is not prone to understatement, but the first night of a UK tour is always going to be key for one of the UK’s favourite Rock sons. 
Tonight, it is Hughes stripped back to a three-piece, with trusty soldiers Soren Andersen (guitar) and Ash Sheehan (drums) alongside him, and there is not much more needed.
It is a combination of the old and the brand new as we are treated to a journey that stops at many points of this fantastic musician’s career.
There are a few in the audience who saw him in those Burn days, fewer still who saw him in Trapeze. Tonight is not about the Purple days, though, although there is a rich irony that a purple hue covers the stage for most of the set.
It is also interesting to note that the venue is far from full, perhaps an indictment to the pull of Purple, or maybe just a sign of the saturated autumn market and reasonably pricy tickets. For those here, we get a real treat.
Having extensively toured the Deep Purple set, Hughes instead draws deep from his extensive discography. The man loves to talk. We get stories of the Hughes/Thrall album, a history of life before Trapeze, his grandparents, and the tale of the dancer, later to become his girlfriend, who inspired Way Back To The Bone, which they play with the same groove it had way back when. This is all delivered with an honest humour which you cannot help but like. 
It is not all history, though. Three choice cuts from Chosen bring a contemporary flourish. Voice In My Head proves there is still room for Hughes in today’s crowded musical world, whilst the title track is captivating.
His voice is still incredible. It is almost obscene how he hits some of the notes he does at the start of Medusa. And when he is doing Coast To Coast at the start of the encore, he is willing to put himself out there with an acoustic guitar and the spotlight.
He nails it, of course. 
Mixed in with new music and Trapeze classics, including a brilliant You Are The Music which I admit I never thought I would see live, Hughes dips into the Black Country Communion catalogue as well.
But for me, apart from the admission that his trousers are too tight to bend down and pick up water, hence his crew bringing him a bottle, which does make him look like a diva, it is the crunching Grace from the underrated Fused, which he did with Tony Iommi, that is the highlight.
It is here that Andersen and Sheehan show their versatility, switching from Trapeze funk to Iommi-powered riffs with ease.
Gushing in his love for everyone, you sense that Hughes is as genuine as they come. And it is this warmth that makes this show special. He is still making great music and looks fit enough to go for several more rounds.
Two-hour sets at his age are hugely impressive, and suddenly realising, as the band welcome Sophie Lloyd onto the stage to roar through the finale Burn, that that time has passed is a marker of how absorbed I and most of the audience were tonight.
It is just a shame that there were not more here to see it. 
Sophie Lloyd
As he welcomes her back to the stage for the encore of Burn, Glenn Hughes is very fulsome in his praise of Sophie Lloyd. She is certainly making the biggest of impressions in 2025, with her images everywhere.
And she is some guitarist, for sure. Yet for me, there is not a huge amount of interest in her songs, which, despite the addition of Marisa Rodriguez, whose voice remains impressive, are average at best.
Instrumental versions of You Give Love A Bad Name, Thunderstruck and Enter Sandman may get a karaoke singalong in the middle-aged, predominantly male crowd (just pointing that out), but songs such as Runaway, Imposter Syndrome and Do Or Die are bland, radio-friendly rock tracks that are instantly forgettable.
I can still hum Voice In My Head the morning after. I cannot remember anything about Lloyd’s songs. 
But she is technically impressive and can play far better than I can write.
Bathed in pink lights for the entirety of the set, she keeps the crowd engaged. They cheer each track, and there are some youngsters who are clearly here just for Lloyd.
Two young ladies next to me are clearly bored with Hughes but excited when even just Lloyd’s name is mentioned. Go figure. I am clearly just harder to please.
I expect her to become much bigger and well-known in 2026, and I wish her and her tight band well. But they are not for me, and I am okay with that.
