Last night, iconic British rockers Razorlight treated fans to a stripped-back gig at Camden’s Barfly, marking 20 years to the month since their last performance at the venue in October 2006.
Celebrating 20 years of their pivotal, 5x platinum-selling self-titled album, frontman Johnny Borrell and drummer and co-songwriter Andy Burrows performed classics from the record, including mega-hits ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’, ‘In The Morning’, and UK number one single ‘America’. They also played a number of crowd-pleasers from the first album era, including ‘Golden Touch’, ‘Stumble And Fall’, and fan-favourite deep cut, ‘Don’t Go Back To Dalston’. The special performance was part of Radio X’s X-Posure Live series.
Despite the stripped-back setting, there were mass singalongs throughout, with roars from the crowd and shouts of “We love you” and “Johnny f*cking Borrell!”.
A bare-chested Borrell revealed he had dug out his iconic pair of white trousers for the occasion, telling Radio X’s John Kennedy onstage after the set, “I found them in the attic just before. I was thinking ‘am I going to wear white jeans for this tour? I don’t know’ and then I was looking for something else, as you do, and I found a box with the white jeans.”
He added, “They’ve just been resewn because we had a little wardrobe malfunction two days ago.”
Asked about the significance of wearing the trousers, Borrell joked, “Well, they keep me honest, I can tell you that. Wearing the same trousers you wore twenty years ago keeps you honest. How many people can do that?”
Answering on how he approaches intimate shows as opposed to bigger concerts, like the band’s upcoming Wembley Arena appearance, Borrell said, “Well, usually there are drums.”
Before continuing sincerely, “I approach every show exactly the same, whether I’m in a small room like this, or a big place, and I never know what’s going to happen. Honestly, thank you guys; that was an incredibly beautiful reception. That was my favourite show of the year so far.”
Elsewhere during the interview segment; talking about the origin of their UK Number 1 single, ‘America’, Burrows explained, “I thought we were never going to record it. Johnny was more into the idea that we’d written a great pop song and that we should see who else might be able to do a good job of it. And I thought that was quite a bold viewpoint.“
Borrell summarised, “But then we got into the studio and made it a Razorlight song, and as soon as we did that, I became the first big fan of that song. I just remember driving around London on my scooter, singing it in my helmet. I was the cabby, whistling the song.”
Last night’s gig gave fans a chance to see Razorlight up close before their upcoming UK tour, which kicks off on 26 November in Glasgow and travels through Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol, and Belfast, alongside a standout arena show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley on 4 December.
Razorlight played:
1) In The Morning
2) Before I Fall To Pieces
3) Stumble And Fall
4) Golden Touch
5) Somewhere Else
6) Don’t Go Back To Dalston
7) America
The upcoming UK tour will see Razorlight‘s four classic members perform the album in full, including defining classics In The Morning, Before I Fall To Pieces, and I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got, alongside deep cuts like Hold On, Who Needs Love, and Kirby’s House.
Reflecting on the period of time when Razorlight was written, Borrell remembers, “The album itself started to sound like a greatest hits. That’s when you know you’re alright.“.
He added, “Me and Andy fell into this groove of writing, just this amazing musical connection. When you do that, it’s like falling in love; it’s just this sort of mutual intoxication and we just couldn’t stop writing.“
Following the success of Razorlight, the band maintained their momentum with the platinum-selling Slipway Fires, which produced the No. 3 hit single in Germany and Austria, Wire to Wire.
The band’s last run on the road saw the classic lineup reunite for a triumphant tour in support of their best-of compilation, Razorwhat? The Best of Razorlight. The shows marked a period of reconciliation and renewed momentum, with the group rebuilding bridges and reconnecting on stage. In particular, Borrell and co-songwriter and drummer Andy Burrows reestablished their creative partnership, reviving a relationship that had been both artistically fruitful and, at times, tumultuous.
Razorlight was released in 2006. In the years since, the band has connected with a new generation of fans, averaging more than 1.6 million monthly Spotify listeners. Their achievements include a UK No. 1 album, a Number 1 single, three UK Top 5 albums, two multi-platinum albums, and eight UK Top 20 singles
‘Razorlight’ 20th anniversary tour dates:
- Thu 26 Nov 2026 – O2 Academy, Glasgow, UK
- Fri 27 Nov 2026 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle, UK
- Sat 28 Nov 2026 – The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
- Mon 30 Nov 2026 – O2 Academy, Leeds, UK
- Tue 01 Dec 2026 – Rock City, Nottingham, UK
- Thu 03 Dec 2026 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
- Fri 04 Dec 2026 – OVO Arena Wembley, London, UK
- Sat 05 Dec 2026 – The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK
- Tue 08 Dec 2026 – Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
- Wed 09 Dec 2026 – Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen, Netherlands
- Sun 13 Dec 2026 – Telegraph, Belfast
- Mon 14 Dec 2026 – 3Olympia, Dublin
Tickets and info available at www.razorlightofficial.com.
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Photos by Jessica-Rose Lena
