From Bludfest to Black Sabbath to backstage selfies, Yungblud’s whirlwind week hits new heights with an intimate, emotional tour stop in Southampton…
Words and photos by Alia Thomas (@aliathomasphoto) | July 16, 2025
It’s been roughly a month since Yungblud released Idols, the first part of his double-album, and since then it’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the 27 year-old from Doncaster. With his own festival, Bludfest, taking place the day after the album launch, followed by his incredible performance at Back to the Beginning with Black Sabbath and a swift flight to Belgium to headline Rock Werchter festival that very same night, and everything in between, his ‘Up Close and Personal’ intimate album tour finally arrived last week, with a flare up of tonsilitus for good measure, which ended with a double-show yesterday in Southampton.
The shows were as much of a whirlwind as his last few weeks, with the set being roughly 35 minutes long, but that didn’t stop everyone from making the most of it. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties for the singer throughout the opening song, ‘Hello, Heaven, Hello’. However, he took it in his stride and continued to put his all into his performance and deliver to his fans as he always does. The 9-minute rock anthem was the perfect way to start the short-but-sweet set, taking you on a sonic journey into the world of Idols, and then moving swiftly into ‘Idols pt.1’, bringing down the pace a little before ramping it right back up into ‘Lovesick Lullaby’. If this song wasn’t going to get the crowd moving, nothing was, but, as expected, the crowd didn’t stop moving for a second of it.
The incredibly popular ‘Zombie’, a song that seemed a little more fitting as an ending to the set, had an unexpected mid-set play. However, it went down beautifully, and inevitably, there weren’t many dry eyes in the house. Leading on from this was the Queen-esque sounds of ‘Change’; a big crowd pleaser, and it was between this song and the final that Yungblud gave a heartfelt speech about the importance of these smaller shows for him. After a crazy few weeks, the personal nature of these shows, in his words, “being able to see all your lovely smiles, and faces, and love between each other brings it all back home to me about why I do it all”.
To round off a special evening, the set was ended with ‘Ghosts’, a newer fan-favourite, and a favourite of Yungbluds’ himself. Another wave of phones rose up above the crowd, and the room once again filled with the sound of 600 people singing along to his song. Before heading off-stage he announced he’d be outside in 20minutes to come and meet everyone, so as expected, a large crowd of fans formed, avidly waiting outside for the singer to come out and say hello to them, sign things, take selfies… Yungblud is well-known for the community he’s created through his music, and it’s at his shows that you really see this come to light. The special connection that he holds between him and his fans is very strong.
So what’s next for the band? A documentary film, and a world tour next year. It’s a good time to be Yungblud.
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