MUSIC PREMIERES

Hits Radio Live

By Graham Clark
December 04, 2024
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Returning to the BP Pulse Arena for the annual Hits Radio Live concert in Birmingham, this year’s concert celebrated all that is good about the UK music scene. Hosted by Hits Radio, the UK’s premier radio network for the latest hits and biggest throwbacks, the station has the ability to feature some of the biggest names in the pop world.

Opening up the evening Sigala warmed up the audience with a run through some of his biggest tracks accompanied by a spectacular light show. Making an effort by dressing up for the occasion Pixie Lott surprised with her new single Anybody Else which marked a maturity in her music though it was the old favourites Mama Do and All About Tonight which resonated with the audience.

Fresh from representing the UK in this years Eurovision Song Contest Olly Alexander decided not to feature his new track, Polari, instead concentrating on his big hits. Backed with two vocalists it was his biggest Years and Years hit, King where he really triumphed.

Tom Grennan used his twenty minute slot wisely, as he provided an energetic and consummate performance that showcased his melodic songs to full effect; A Little Bit of Love will probably still be played on the radio and remembered in twenty years time, such is the quality of the song. As he concluded with By Your Side, Grennan had provided the best performance of the first half of the evening.

Joel Corry, looking like he had just returned from the gym, opened up the second half of the show with a selection of top tracks, including some throwbacks such as the Flo Rida track, Good Feeling.

As Leigh- Anne arrived on stage with her two dancers, she looked absent without the other members of Little Mix, her former group. In a bass heavy set the new songs sounded like they had been heavily influenced by South African singer Tyla with Stealin’ Love being her best number.

Wearing a new blue hat, Tom Walker and his band gave his second performance of the night having supported The Script as the nearby Utilita Arena. The likeable Walker excelled on Just you and I as the arena lit up in a sea of lights as tge fans held their mobiles in the air.

For a group who has been going for over twenty years that has not had a big chart hit recently who can headline either demonstrates the current state of the lack of big newcomers in the pop world, or conversely shows that Sugababes and their music are timeless.

Backed by a competent band the three piece excelled on Freak Like Me and naturally Push the Button ending a night where Hits Radio Live appeared to push all the right buttons successfully.

MUSIC PREMIERES

Fred Again.. ‘USB002’ Review Spontaneous Dancefloor Energy at Its Best

By Rishi Shah
December 17, 2025
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Four years on from the ‘Actual Life’ series lifting him into the mainstream spotlight, Fred Again.. continues to feel unavoidable. The London producer and DJ born Fred Gibson has moved at a relentless pace, bouncing between sold out stadium dates in New York and surprise appearances at Sheffield’s 1,000 capacity Forge, while also making history as the first electronic artist to top the bill at Reading and Leeds in 2024.

Where the ‘Actual Life’ releases and his fourth album, 2024’s ‘Ten Days’, leaned into warmth and joy pulled from ordinary moments, Gibson has also sharpened his instinct for high impact club weapons rooted in garage, dubstep and jungle. That side of his output lives on ‘USB’, an “infinite album” first imagined in 2022 as a home for tracks that exist outside any fixed universe, including defining moments like ‘Rumble’ and ‘Jungle’.

‘USB002’, the second vinyl only chapter of the ‘USB’ project, brings together 16 recent tracks, many of which surfaced gradually on streaming services over a ten week stretch. The music was shaped live, in step with ten unannounced DJ appearances across the world from Dublin to Mexico City. Even with a Glastonbury style registration system in place, The Times reported that 100,000 people tried to secure tickets for the opening night in Glasgow.

Appropriately, ‘USB002’ feels alive and constantly in motion, helped along by contributions from close collaborators such as Floating Points and Sammy Virji. The rigid, techno driven pressure of ‘Ambery’ echoes elements of Floating Points’ 2019 album ‘Crush’, while Gibson’s take on ‘The Floor’ builds like the slow climb of a rollercoaster before dropping back to earth without warning.

The guest list stretches beyond the usual dance circles, with two Australian guitar bands popping up in unexpected ways. ‘You’re A Star’ reworks Amyl and The Sniffers’ ‘Big Dreams’ into a breakbeat driven rush, while ‘Hardstyle 2’ pulls the experimental post punk edge of Shady Nasty into an Underworld adjacent space alongside Kettama. Gibson’s real trick is his ability to connect with anyone. These tracks are not reinterpretations but full takeovers.

The visual world wrapped around the ‘USB002’ rollout reinforces the instinct behind the music. Phones were prohibited at shows staged in vast warehouse spaces under sweeping light rigs, while Gibson’s team shared striking black and white footage and created artwork for each single on site. Bottling that sense of urgency, the project is rooted in the thrill of the present moment, something Gibson seems able to summon simply by turning up.

If the ‘Actual Life’ series and ‘Ten Days’ captured passing snapshots of experience, ‘USB’ is defined by constant movement, a space where boundaries are removed entirely. Sitting somewhere between an album and a playlist, ‘USB002’ underlines why Fred Again.. feels so dominant right now, and suggests that his current run may only be the beginning of something much bigger.