Words and photos by Billy Edwards
The audience at the Students’ Union waited with bated breath for The Feeling’s first appearance in Cardiff in some years. This was responded to very well on stage ÔÇô it began with a special harmony-laden fanfare of Fill My Little World rich with atmosphere. It sounded like an off cut from The Beach BoysÔÇÖ Smile Sessions, a piece of pop genius, alongside lots of enigmatic spotlights. Before too long, the band came on stage, led by frontman Dan Gillespie Sells.
In a slim black suit, he cut a tall and thin figure, with immaculately white slicked-back hair. Their sound filled Y Plas well, with Dan happy to be playing a studentÔÇÖs union as it ‘strengthened his escaping youthfulness’, he quipped to a sympathetic audience. The FeelingÔÇÖs debut album – which cemented them as one of the finest pop groups to walk the line of alternative rock and 70s charms in the 2000s ÔÇô came out sixteen years ago. It has since sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and radio figures revealed they were played every five minutes on average on British radio stations in the UK. Though the album still sounds vibrantly fresh, The Feeling have blossomed ever since: having become a summer festival mainstay, composed music for a musical, and created seven albums including their latest Loss. Love. Hope. TheyÔÇÖre touring during October for this record.
Dan explained how the album was produced in lockdown, telling us of the conditions in which their album was made, with the group jamming away: ‘there was a rule of six, and thereÔÇÖs five of us’. This was rather apparent in their newest songs – for example, There is No Music, an impassioned sermon standing up for love against the adversities of modern life and an anthem of how Dan ‘will fight for the thoughtful souls with epic struggles and humble goals’. The newer songs held a more introspective and philosophical outlook, welcome after the somewhat daftness of their earlier work.
Soon came Fill My Little World, which certainly got the crowd in high spirits. They promised all the hits, and this was the biggest of them. They were clearly still very proud of the song: a gleeful staple of daytime radio and noughties playlists which broke into the top ten in 2006 and hasnÔÇÖt left the public consciousness since. It seemed like DanÔÇÖs favourite to sing, swaying and peering over the crowd, whilst Kevin Jeremiah (brother of keyboardist Ciaran) provided a soaring guitar solo. He was regularly handed some cracking guitars, including a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul, and was fantastic on all of them ÔÇô everything was not only faithful to the originals, but even more skilled and impressive.
Never be Lonely was a highlight for the groupÔÇÖs excellent use of harmony ÔÇô every member contributes to singing what is a truly lovely song. Here was a key piece of audience interaction, encouraging the left and right side of Y Plas to echo the chorus against each-other. Then, Dan kindly sang happy birthday to an audience member who was following their tour around the country, insisting that he wouldnÔÇÖt embarrass her by singing ‘sheÔÇÖs turning thirty’ to the chorus. The Feeling appear very close to their audience, and they embrace that with absolute enthusiasm.
A very entertaining part of the evening was a cover of Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles, which was ‘back in the setlist by popular demand’. Dan remarked how it was so much of an old favourite that it even found itself on a B-side. Throughout the show a spotlight had illuminated keyboardist Ciaran Jeremiah, and here he had a star turn on the ÔÇÿoh-a oh-aÔÇÖ sections. This was particularly effective radiating from his solemn, passionate face: all you could see behind his piano.
The audience was a good mix of ages and characters. I suspected many were there to hear songs from EverybodyÔÇÖs Talking About Jamie ÔÇô the hit West End show that broke records with a three-year-residency. Dan Gillespie Sells wrote and composed the music for it. ItÔÇÖs since been produced into a film, which Dan joked about: ‘At first it was 20th Century Studios, then Disney, then Amazon got involved ÔÇô I had no idea who I was working for!’.
A succinct and crowd-pleasing set was perfectly concluded with my favourite song of theirs ÔÇô Love It When You Call. This was particularly rousing ÔÇô everyone joined in with the extremely catchy ‘Oh, ai-ai-ai, ai-aiÔǪ’ section and its accompanying chorus, with plenty of roaring guitars and immense high notes.
Their encore was a defiant delivery of what had made the performance so fun ÔÇô I Thought It Was Over was a cheekily suitable victory lap, which saw Richard jump from a height twirling his bass. The show ended on an excellent choice for another cover. Dan described how the band members all had very different music tastes ÔÇô particularly evident in the setlist, everything from hard rock to power pop ÔÇô yet they all agreed upon Queen. Dan admitted he would try his best to ‘continue the tradition of gay men singing about fat-bottomed girls’, though showed an amusing humility in his plea for the audience to sing-along, so it would hide his voice falling apart against FreddieÔÇÖs range. All in all, seeing The Feeling live was an excellent night-out, due to a very-well-seasoned and likable band playing a host of brilliantly infectious pop hits; a mix of outright classics that still sound great and a selection of terrifically expressive new tunes.