For the third night of his UK tour, Alfie Templeman brought the best of both acid-trip-soft-rock and dreamy dance to Newcastle’s Boiler Shop.
Templeman debuted in 2018 with ‘Orange Juice’. Since then, he’s released seven strong EPs and two full studio albums. This tour comes after the release of his most recent album in June, Radiosoul.
Kicking the Saturday night set off on his electric guitar with ‘3D Feelings’ and ‘Obvious Guy’, Templeman gets this devoted crowd going first with his dance tracks. ‘Obvious Guy’ is arguably one of his best and most memorable due to its bouncy beat and breezy melody. At this point, he compliments Boiler Shop and highlights the fact that it’s an even bigger venue than the last Newcastle venue he played, The Cluny – which he also declares his love for.
Now, ‘Film Scene Daydream’ and ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’ continue the high energy. These are the kind of laidback dance tracks that Templeman pulls off spectacularly.
“We’d like to pay you something really weird now, it’s a song called ‘Beckham’”.
The chorus to this new, experimental track is rap-like: “Sutton, Bexley, Tooting, Earlsfield, Streatham, Peckham, David Beckham”. The lyrics parade us through South London, but when the song begins with “Obelisks around me / Make it hard to see / Where the bridge is burning / When it started burning me”, it’s evocative of the multitalented artist facing a stark, London-centric, period of change. He’s previously said it was inspired by The Beatle’s track ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and that he included David Beckham purely because it rhymed with Peckham. This focus shouldn’t come as a surprise as the multi-instrumentalist made the radical decision to move from the countryside to London last year.
The 21-year-old’s confidence visibly grows throughout the set as he feels the love from the crowd and shouts “Here we f*cking go!” and plays another new track, ‘Hello Lonely’ where Templeman tackles his “dodgy social battery” with another melodic groove.
In what has already been a jam-packed set, the Bedfordshire-born artist now starts to strum Dire Strait’s 1978 classic ‘Sultans of Swing’. This would’ve been a great cover from him, but alas he was only teasing us with the initial chords.
There are two electric guitars on either side of him on stage (and of course his drummer) and having this setup makes the live renditions so vibrant and ensures they’re doing the studio versions justice.
“I think it’s time for a bit of rock ‘n’ roll”, Templeman declares, before revealing it’s another impressive newbie, ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. As he takes a breath, he warns us that it’s time for him to play something weird again, but only if we can “put up with it for three and a half minutes”. And what is this weirdness he talks of? ‘Vultures’. This is officially the Radiosoul section of the set, which works in his favour; deciding not to sprinkle it throughout his other work means the album’s cutaway sound is more distinctive.
“Anyone up for a new song?” he asks before diving into ‘Dirty Laundry’ and confessing, “F*ck me, that would’ve been awkward if you said no”. This track is even newer than Radiosoul. Released last month, it highlights his impressive work ethic whilst maintaining a diverse quality of sound. It’s a fun, chilled-out track that echoes that of Still Woozy.
Throughout the set, Templeman’s bandmates aren’t shy, with one of his guitarists taking his turn to give us a boost: “Newcastle, if you do have your dancing shoes on, feel free to cut loose!” Before they take us on a romantic trip to the ‘Movies’.
“I had a bit of a rough day today but this has cheered me up.” Aside from his musical talent, he’s sweet and open with his audience, something that goes a long way in an industry that thrives on big egos. Templeman affirms music is about showing what’s going on in his brain and showcasing his continuous musical development.
He closes with the 2019 track ‘Don’t Go Wasting Time’, coining it as “a bit more melancholic”. But, not being the type to leave an audience blue, he fittingly sends us on our way with his summery 2020 bop, ‘Happiness in Liquid Form’.
The loud and enthusiastic front rows of the crowd, all around the same age as Templeman, compliment him with their howls and woo-woo’s, which he absorbs with all his humbleness, shouting, “See you in a bit!” before running off stage.
Being so early into his musical career, it’s exciting to see where he’ll go next and it’s clear that this crowd will welcome him back to Newcastle with open arms when he returns.
Words by Kai Palmer
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