Bryan Adams
- Rock Metal Machine
- 18 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Artists: Bryan Adams
Venue: Connexin Live (Hull)
Date: 08 December 2025
"I left the building with that buzz you only get after watching a great show. Bryan Adams ranks as one of the very best I’ve seen and for anyone like me, who thought he doesn’t Rock like he used to, go and see him and you’ll realise what nonsense that is."
I’ll hold my hands up, despite absolutely loving albums like ‘Reckless’ and ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’, I’d kind of lost my way with the Canadian star’s output. I remember really disliking ‘Cloud #9’ and when he duetted with Mel C, I freely admit the musical snob in me reared its head, with me muttering about him working with a bloody Spice Girl and how the guy had gone right off the boil. The odd song would crop up here and there that I liked, but I have to say my interest had waned. This was corrected when Adams decided to play at the Royal Albert Hall, dedicating consecutive nights to playing entire albums from his career, including the aforementioned releases. Listening to some of those performances online made me realise that he could still deliver, so I figured it was only right I investigate further.
With his new album ‘Roll With The Punches’ coming out, that seemed like the perfect place to start and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with how it sounded. Perhaps it’s a misconception I’d formed due to him trying his hand at soundtracks and musicals, but I was under the impression he was a bit ballad heavy these days. However, ‘Roll With The Punches’, with a variety of upbeat tracks, suggested otherwise. So, when I found out he was coming to my home town to promote it, I decided to check it out with an open mind.
The place was packed to the rafters with not a seat to be had, and the floor was jammed with people. Everyone entering the arena was given an LED wristband to wear, which was curious, but would become apparent later on. The stage was sizable with a walkway and as is the case with most concerts now, there was a large LED screen showing a figure wearing a boxing robe with his back to the crowd, the new album and a QR code of how to listen to it if you hadn’t already picked it up from the merch stand.
After an amusing intro on the LED board featuring a running dog, a technician on screen fixing a real light on the rig which promptly failed again the second he walked off screen, a horse taking a dump which had to be quickly swept away before a bunch of rugby players tackled the robed figure to the ground. He picked himself up and revealed himself to be Adams, the screen suddenly went black and the singer walked out on stage – alone, just with an acoustic guitar.
At this point my stomach dropped. A few years back Elton John played Hull and while it sold well, it turned out to be a full concert of nothing but Elton and his piano for two hours. When Bryan Adams stood there and started strumming an acoustic ‘Can’t Stop This Thing We Started’ I was torn. On one hand, he sounded absolutely brilliant. On the other hand, what’s going on? Who starts a Rock concert like this?
After wowing us all with his opener, still with just his voice and guitar, he performed a wonderful ‘Straight From The Heart’. Again, he was flawless vocally and the song ended with a rousing cheer, before Adams bawled “We need some more guitar!” At this point the stage lit up and he was joined by his band of Keith Scott, Pat Stewart and Gary Breit. They exploded into a boisterous ‘Kick Ass’ and we were off and running. No sooner had the dust settled, the familiar riff of ‘Run To You’ rang out and Adams delivered this classic with total precision. We’d barely caught our breath before the cheery ‘Somebody’ broke out and lit up the arena – literally. The LED bracelets we were all wearing came to life, creating a sea of purple lights that looked stunning. These bracelets would continue to change colour, pulse and flash throughout the show, adding a really special extra element to proceedings.
The title track of the new album sounded even better in a live environment and nestled nicely next to the anthemic ‘18 Til I Die’. Adams showcased his ability as a singer with a note perfect ‘Please Forgive Me’, before acknowledging the great Tina Turner and the impact she had on his career, by delivering a spectacular ‘It’s Only Love’. ‘Shine A Light’ did exactly that with everyone’s bracelets glowing a brilliant white, before he took it down a notch with the pairing of ‘Heaven’ and ‘Never Ever Let You Go’ from the new album. He told an amusing story about how he hated making videos, but put one up on the LED screen anyway, attempting to play ‘This Time’ live along to the original music video, where he was sporting a vintage shaggy 80s hairstyle that we were sternly told not to laugh at!
‘Make Up Your Mind’ worked well live before a spirited run through of ‘I Wanna Hold You’ got everybody dancing and resulted in several fans taking their tops off to wave around – although sadly all but one of them were male. He then covered ‘Twist And Shout’ before launching into ‘So Happy It Hurts’ which pretty much mirrored the mood of the audience.
‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman’ showcased Keith Scott’s versatility on guitar, which was matched by Adams who transitioned from bass to acoustic guitar, to electric rhythm guitar throughout the evening, depending on the song. ‘Here I Am’ from the ‘Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron’ soundtrack was stunning, before he donned the acoustic guitar and the band left him again. He delivered ‘When You’re Gone’ by himself – and hearing it stripped down with no Spice Girl present, I had to admit, I was maybe a little hasty in my previous condemnation.
‘The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You’ got everybody moving before Adams’ delivered his smash hit ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’. Once again, he sang it flawlessly and received a deserved ovation from the ecstatic crowd. ‘Back To You’ led us neatly to him strumming the opening to ‘Summer Of 69’, which was greeted with a huge roar. Adams and the band paused, smiled, and then launched into it, blowing the roof off the arena. He then rounded things off with ‘Cuts Like A Knife’, before the band took their bows and left. Adams remained, once more with his acoustic guitar, and played ‘All For Love’ alone, which I thought was far superior in this simple form to the original with Sting and Rod Stewart. He then thanked everyone for coming, wished us all a Merry Christmas and sang ‘Christmas Time’ before leaving the stage to thunderous applause.
I left the building with that buzz you only get after watching a great show. Bryan Adams ranks as one of the very best I’ve seen and for anyone like me, who thought he doesn’t Rock like he used to, go and see him and you’ll realise what nonsense that is. There was no support band, no messing about with long, drawn out solo spots – just a masterclass in songwriting and live performance. Easily one of my top ten gigs I’ve attended.
Review: James Gaden
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