Todd Rundgren is a man of few words. So much so that his only utterances during a two-hour set at The London Palladium were a solitary thank you and an introduction to the band at the end of the set. Still, for someone whose genius has never been a question, the music did all the talking for him.
Todd Rundgren
The London Palladium – 29 October 2025
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
The London Palladium seems to suit Todd Rundgren perfectly, the gold leaf, red velvet chairs and crystal chandeliers reflecting the grandness of the music, the man himself and his five-piece band filling the huge space with the sound of the gods. 
For a man known as a pioneer of visual arts, the stage is shorn of all unnecessary screens, special effects or props, leaving the musicians unadorned and focused on the performances alone. Given the quality of the songs, this stripped-back approach fits in perfectly and barring the lightshow, the whole is designed to let the material breathe and be marvelled at.
Free of the need to be carefully choreographed, Rundgren made the most of the large stage, often wandering onto the step at the front of the apron to tear out a guitar solo or just serenade the audience virtually face to face.
A lush I Think You Know kicked off the set before the smooth groove of Utopia’s Secret Society brought out the guitar hero side of Rundgren, his solo thrilling.
At times, the evening had the same mellow yet sharp feel of the kind of sonic layering that Steely Dan have built a career on, the vocal harmonies from the band spot on and their playing slick but certainly with character.
A huge sounding and passionate Weakness packed a real punch, and Beloved Infidel perfectly balanced melody and balls with its irresistibly hook-filled chorus, Hit Me Like A Train doused in its funk power.
Wouldn’t You Like To Know stirred a little bit of jazz into the pot, and the sight of Rundgren conducting the band with a baton for Sweet added a touch of humour, the one affectation used all night, displaying his Pied Piper ability to draw the absolute of every person in the hall.
Somehow managing to squeeze disparate genres into the set, often within one song, Rundgren can comfortably go from rockers like Woman’s World, classy ballad Afterlife and ska sea shanty Down With The Ship with remarkable ease. 
Even stripped of instruments, the extraordinary a capella Honest Work is a literally show-stopping moment, the funk rap meets gospel mash-up Fascist Christ, another left turn before a tumultuous Worldwide Epiphany closes the set.
With an encore featuring a hits montage that of Saw The Light, Can We Still Be Friends, and Hello It’s Me, showing Rundgren’s earworm-inducing skills, a very happy London Palladium emptied out into the bright lights of the West End night.
Whilst a lot of his peers are often better known and lauded, Todd Rundgren is the real deal and an absolute master of his craft. For those who know him, that just does not need saying.
