ROACHFORD – 170 RUSSELL – MELBOURNE – 23.05.2025
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris
It’s been a long time Melbourne … on Friday night at 170 Russell in Melbourne, the legendary and charismatic UK soul and R&B artist Roachford performed his Then and Now Greatest Hits Tour 2025. It was a nostalgic evening of celebration and smooth, soulful grooves.
The night kick started with Aussie blues rock singer/songwriter, Jack Bratt, who performed solo with just his electric guitar. Bratt has a raspy soulful voice and uses a loop station, creating a full sound in his music, allowing him to showcase his incredible guitar skills. I really enjoyed his set and it seemed like most of the crowd did too. Bratt performed a Hendrix cover of LITTLE WING which was a highlight. He also played songs from his 2022 album Slow Release such as SPADES, DOWN and BODY LANGUAGE and encouraged fans to meet him at the merch stand after his set to buy a copy of his vinyl to help pay for all the road tolls he’s incurred since moving from QLD to Sydney. A fan down the front yelled out “Move to Melbourne, it’s better!”
Roachford opened with THE DOCTOR, featuring an instrumental intro with Jackie Barnes on drums and later joined by Chris Moorhead and David Levey. During the instrumental, Roachford makes a grand entrance as he casually walks out on stage dressed in a white unbuttoned suit jacket with matching white pants, a black collared shirt and wearing thick-rimmed glasses as he starts singing with the band. He looks so incredibly cool. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Roachford says: “How are you feeling Melbourne” in his thick English accent and the crowd roars with excitement. Roachford said the last time he played in Australia was 21 years ago back in 2004 and commented: “I must have been 14 years of age back then!”.
Roachford sits centre stage as he sings and plays the keys throughout the show with wonderful stage lighting creating a variety of shades and moods. They launch into HIGH ON LOVE which is a powerful, uplifting, feel-good song and showcased Roachford’s strong soulful vocals along with the band’s wonderful backing harmonies. Next was the beautiful ballad LOVE REMEDY and by this stage, it was obvious Roachford’s soulful vocal range is next level. The various tones and depth he reaches are stunning and the crowd watch on with joy and amazement. His ballads in particular showcase his emotive vocal tones and rich, velvety sound. Just a few songs in and Roachford already has the crowd in the palm of his hand.
Roachford encouraged crowd participation throughout his show and he had the crowd singing along with him on many of his songs, mostly in such perfect harmony like a gospel choir. I was quite taken back by just how much the crowd were getting into the show. Even Roachford couldn’t stop smiling and complimented everyone on how wonderful they sang, saying how he loved playing in Melbourne. You certainly felt this throughout the evening. Roachford endeared the crowd with his short stories and the jokes he told between songs. He is so charismatic, funny and has a certain warmth about him.
Roachford introduced his band and said Moorhead and Levey have played with him for a long time and you could feel the mutual respect they had for each other. He complimented Jackie Barnes several times throughout the show too and joked about calling him Jimmy Barnes’ son. But in all honesty, Jackie stood out and was an absolute force on drums and also provided solid backing vocals.
Roachford released his Then and Now album back in December 2023 and he played almost every song from this album along with a mountain of cover versions. LAY YOUR LOVE ON ME followed and the crowd swayed and sang along singing: “Come On, Come On, Lay Your Love On Me”. This song was certainly a crowd favourite and gave me goosebumps.
They played a funky up-tempo cover of Bill Withers AIN’T NO SUNSHINE and then performed RIDE THE STORM. For the past 10 years, Roachford has been part of the new version of Mike + The Mechanics and we were treated to OVER MY SHOULDER which was a ripper. Roachford then talked about how much he liked Australian band The Teskey Brothers and how they cover old classics and bring them back to life. He then sang a cover of Teskeys CARRY YOU which was an absolute delight. That led into a cover of The Temptations PAPA WAS A ROLLIN’ STONE and then it was back to his own music with THIS GENERATION. This ended the main set and Roachford complimented the crowd as he walked off stage saying: “I love your energy!”
The first encore started with Moorhead on acoustic guitar and Roachford singing CRY FOR ME from the Permanent Shade of Blue (1994) album. Moorhead left the stage and Roachford remained performing a solo of JOHNNY and a medley of Motown and R&B covers Marvin Gaye cover SEXUAL HEALING, followed by NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE which saw the band come back on stage and join Roachford. Next up, a cover of Tom Petty’s FREE FALLIN, which the crowd soaked up and sang along to with much enthusiasm. The set finished with three of Roachford’s biggest hits, GET READY!, CUDDLY TOY and ONLY TO BE WITH YOU which was the perfect climax to end an incredible evening. The band got a group shot with the crowd and decided to throw in one more song as it was obvious they didn’t want the night to end. An Oasis cover of WONDERWALL had the crowd sing so loud the roof almost blew off 170 Russell. This felt like a party that you never want to end. Absolutely wonderful evening!
Roachford band:
Andrew Roachford – lead singer / songwriter / keyboards
Chris Moorhead – Guitarist / songwriter
David Levey – Bassist
Jackie James Barnes – Drummer (touring drummer on Aus/NZ Tour)
