Bryan Adams - OVO Hydro, Glasgow Tuesday 13th May 2025

As the Bryan Adams juggernaut rolled into the city, Scotland had been experiencing some wonderfully warm and sunny weather and it was pleasing to see so many concert goers in t-shirts, shorts and summer dresses, without having to consider the usual Scottish conundrum of “will I need a jacket for later?”. With no support slot, it was going to be a night of Bryan Adams and Bryan Adams only… ably assisted by his band of merry men, including longtime guitarist Keith Scott, keyboard player Gary Breit and drummer Pat Steward. There was no bass player on this occasion, as has happened on some past tours, with either Adams himself filling in on bass or the wonders of musical technology assisting.

The sold-out arena was packed as a large floating boxing glove (connected to small drones, I believe) hovered over the crowd; a nod to the singer’s upcoming album Roll With The Punches, due for release in late summer. As the lights dimmed, Adams, Scott, Breit and Steward appeared on stage to rapturous applause, which got even louder when the crowd realised they were all wearing kilts! It’s not difficult to fire up a Scottish crowd by playing on some Scottishness, something which Adams continued mid-show… but more of that later!

Opener ‘Roll with the Punches’, a new track and the title track of the upcoming album, started the show, with much of the crowd singing along with familiarity due it being released as a single a few months ago. Adams then took the Glasgow crowd from the very new to the very old, with a trip back in time to 1984’s Reckless album and the unmistakeable intro to ‘Run to You’ and the rocking ‘Somebody’… guaranteed crowd pleasers that elicited some dad dancing and a smattering of air guitar in the standing section. The good going ’18 Til I Die’ led to a dreamy and atmospheric ‘Cloud Number 9’, with Adams bathed in blue light as the images on the big screen gave those up in gods (the really high up and faraway seats!) a chance to have a proper look at the tartan on the main man’s kilt.

With a new album to push, the bouncy ‘Make Up Your Mind’ (which is apparently about meeting an ex-partner) was next and again, lots of recent airplay on UK commercial radio paid dividends as the faithful seemed to know the song well… although also possibly aided by the lyrics showing on the screens! It was back to familiar territory with a stirring run through of the uber popular power ballad ‘Heaven’ (ably assisted by the Glasgow choir) and a tribute to the legendary Tina Turner, who duetted with Adams on the superb ‘It’s Only Love’ when he was young artist, helping him on his way to fame and fortune. ‘You Belong to Me’, a more recent effort from 2015’s Get Up album has a rockabilly feel to it and Adams encouraged the crowd to dance and enjoy themselves for a chance to feature on the big screen. The disproportionate number of good-looking women appearing on the screen compared to bald and overweight men in their mid-40s was noted! I know what you were doing, Adams!!!!

Lively, sing-along crowd favourite ‘Can’t Stop This Thing We Started’, from 1991’s excellent Waking Up The Neighbours album, saw guitarist Keith Scott on fine form on as he showcased his skills before the tempo dropped for another moment of exquisite balladry with ‘Please Forgive Me’. The fun ‘Go Down Rockin’’ preceded an emotional ‘Shine a Light’, which Adams wrote following his father’s death, leading him to encourage the audience to switch on their phone lights in memory of those they’ve lost. Seeing phone lights illuminating the huge arena was quite a powerful sight!

‘Here I Am’ led to an acoustic section, with Adams running through a sprightly cover of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whisky in the Jar’ and ‘When You’re Gone’, before playing an incredibly sultry ‘Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman’, brand new modern-sounding ‘Never Ever Let You Go’ (another new album track) and the brilliant rocker with the most amazingly catchy guitar riff, ‘The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You’, with the stage lit up in red like certain districts of Amsterdam (or so I’m told!!).

One of the great things about a Bryan Adams show is where he takes audience requests. If someone asks for it, there’s a high chance he’ll give it a shot! So, imagine my own delight when the first request was ‘Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven’, a personal favourite songs which I owned as a cassette single back in the days when I had hair and waistline! The blue mood lighting used took me right back to the cover of that very single. Aaaahhh, memories! Now, remember I mentioned that any nod to Scottishness is an easy way to win over a Scottish audience? Well, to complement the kilt wearing, Adams pulled another tartan cat out of a tartan bag by playing an unusual audience request; a rip-roaring, high-energy cover of The Proclaimer’s ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’. To say the arena was bouncing would be an understatement, so much so that the bespectacled Reid brothers could probably have heard the song whilst sitting in the sunshine of Leith! Keeping the energy high with a final audience request of ‘Kids Wanna Rock’ left many in the audience drenched in sweat. It was a superbly fun 10 minutes or so!

The first single I ever bought was from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves… and yes, you’ve guessed it… it was Bryan Adams’ magnus opus power ballad, ‘(Everything I Do) I Do it For You’. It’s fair to say, that I have a love/hate relationship with the song, probably to do with loving it initially before its own success led to it being criminally overplayed and me, well… hating it! But marrying a woman who it means so much to has softened my attitude to it in recent years, meaning it was quite special to hear it played live for the first time with Mrs Griffiths next to me. It’s sickly-sweet and at times overwrought… but as power ballads go, it’s massive and it deserves its rightful spot on any Bryan Adams setlist. There was dancing, swaying, hand holding, hugging… even a few tears were shed by some. That’s why it’s such a hugely successful song, as it means so much to so many. But we were there to rock and the rock returned with one of my own personal favourites, the brilliant ‘Back to You’, ‘So Happy It Hurts’ and another song that has become a favourite of rock fans worldwide, ‘Summer of 69’. It was the song that many wanted to hear and led to a further bout of karaoke vocals, bad dad dancing and air guitar moves. ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ and a raucous cover of Frankie Vallie’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ brought the main set to a close.

Adams returned to a small ‘B-Stage’ situated at the rear of the arena, minus his band and with only an acoustic guitar in hand for an encore of ‘Straight From The Heart’ and ‘All For Love’, accompanied by the Glaswegian choir, who again illuminated the arena with mobile phone lights. An unexpectedly low-key end to a great show! No unnecessary long talks or preaching. Just two and a half hours of great music.

People tend to overly fawn over Bruce Springsteen these days, holding him up as some sort of musical genius (some even think he’s a political heavyweight now!) and failing to understand why some people just don’t get it. That’s not to denigrate The Boss, who rightly holds legendary status in rock and has written some rock n roll masterpieces… but he’s not the only ageing musician who can still rock as hard as he always did for the best part of two and a half hours. Bryan Adams easily matched Springsteen’s passion, energy and musical prowess and although at 65, he’s a decade younger than New Jersey’s finest, Adams’ voice has arguably held up much better. Plus, he didn’t have to revert to political rhetoric at any time, simply letting his catalogue of songs do the talking! After all, that’s why people go to a rock show. There was nothing reckless about Bryan Adams’ Glasgow show as he delivered a set filled with hits, favourites, deeper cuts, fan requests and a smattering of new songs that shows he's far from being a legacy act. He’s still rocking and still relevant… and long may he continue to wake up the neighbours!