After last year’s second set of Albert Hall residencies, it was back to a more conventional tour for Bryan Adams. Considering he hasn’t had a hit in years and it has been his photography if anything that has kept him in the public eye, it was an impressive feat to all but sell out the London date at the 02, where a scan of the queues revealed that the audience was a mix of ages and types, almost like a microcosm of middle England.

With no support as usual, a few minutes before he went on stage a giant inflatable boxing glove drifted across the stage, marking the theme of forthcoming album ‘Roll With The Punches’, and indeed he opened with the title track, satisfyingly rocky, even with a garage-like solo from Keith Scott, and almost harking back to the ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’ album.

He may not have been playing ‘Reckless’ in full this time, but casually he tossed in his first two UK hits ‘Run To You’ and ‘Somebody’ at the start of the set. They were so authentically delivered, they probably sounded little different from when I first saw him at Hammersmith some 40 years ago, though there was one change, as they were down to a four piece with no permanent bassist, Bryan filling the void on some but by no means all of the songs.

I was particularly delighted to hear ‘18 Til I Die’ as it was one of the few songs I genuinely regretted missing the night he played the patchy album in full at the Albert Hall. The lyrics to this great fist puncher were flashed on the big screen, though how ironic it is that the 65^th birthday that seemed so far away is now in the Canadian’s rear view mirror.

‘Cloud Number Nine’ was dreary as usual but ample consolation came in new song ‘Make Up Your Mind’, his first in years to hark back to those halcyon ‘Cuts Like A Knife’ and ‘Reckless’ days of raw-edged but melodic heartland rock. Talking of ‘Reckless’, there were a couple more in ‘Heaven’, now slightly more up tempo and even with a dance oriented groove, and – preceded by his usual Tina Turner tribute – ‘It’s Only Love’, the flamboyant Keith teasing with his ragged guitar solo which had multiple false endings.

Bryan Adams is a master of getting the crowd involved and conducted some dancing during ‘You Belong To Me’, with a snatch of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, and the joyful atmosphere continued with ‘Can’t Stop This Thing We Started’ which always has that effect. However a beautifully delivered ‘Please Forgive Me’ was one of the many songs where I was struck just how good his voice remains and, rather like his image, remarkably unchanged over the years.

‘Go Down Rocking’ sounded like U2’s ‘Elevation’ meets ‘Glad All Over’ and saw him play some mean harmonica. However over the years the ‘bare bones’ format has become an ever larger part of the show and this was no exception. The middle part of this set included ‘Shine A Light’ where the sea of phone lights made for quote a spectacle, ‘Here I Am’ where he was accompanied only by Gary Breit’s beautiful piano playing, somewhat surprisingly a gutsy solo ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, and ‘When You’re Gone’, which flourished in this format, standing on the strength of the song rather than a Spice Girl’s annoying contribution.

Preceded by an amusing anecdote about a mariachi band playing it in a Mexican restaurant unaware of his presence, ‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman’ featured Keith’s delicate Spanish guitar before one final new song in ‘Never Ever Let You Go’ with an unexpected synthwave feel.

As the set gradually rocked back up, ‘The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You featured some typically brisk and energetic drumming from Pat Steward, then Bryan took some pre-show requests. You could add my name to the long laundry list of people who had asked for it as I was delighted the first choice was ‘One Night Love Affair’, which would be a stand out opening cut on most albums but is unfairly overlooked because of the strength of ‘Reckless’; though when he covered ‘London Calling’ (in very authentic fashion), I could imagine the old punks of my generation thinking they had heard everything now.

Naturally one of the biggest cheers so far came when Bryan cast off a guitar and worked the crowd during the first verse of ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You)’ which was also enlivened by a smooth solo from Keith. The atmosphere really started to sizzle during ‘Back To You’ with a clapalong and fine piano and slide guitar solos, then the inflatable sports car dangling over the arena could only mean the equally irresistible ‘So Happy It Hurts’.

This warmed us up nicely for a pair of even bigger crowd pleasers in ‘Summer of 69’, surely one of the most perfect songs ever written with Bryan going out to the edge of the walkway and drawing things out teasingly before those at the front of a packed standing floor, and more participation as the ‘na-na-na’s on an extended ‘Cuts Like A Knife’ rang around the arena. There was then a surprise as after taking their bow by shaking a leg in the style of the ‘It Ain’t Half Hot Mum’ concert troupe, the band finished off with ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. Normally I would balk at covers, of which there seem to be more in the set these days, but it fitted the atmosphere perfectly.

As the band went back stage there was then a brief ‘Where’s Wally?’ moment as Bryan disappeared down the side of the arena. It was to head for a makeshift stage at the back, at which point the first in the crowd became last and vice versa, as he performed ‘Straight From the Heart’ and ‘All For Love’, again to a forest of phone lights. They are simple and universal sentiments perhaps but the way one man with only a voice that had been singing for 2 ¼ hours, an acoustic guitar and harmonica could hold attention spoke volumes for his talent.

Ever reliable, his everyman image hides a man whose innate understanding of how live entertainment works is backed by a catalogue of great songs. This combination made this arena production feel like an intimate show.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.