Thomas Headon @ Albert Hall Manchester, Sunday 30th October

On Sunday evening Thomas Headon took to the stage in Manchester (as a part of his short, four-stop UK tour) at the stunning venue of the Albert Hall, performing to a full audience of 1800 people. Thomas is best known for his pop sound and rose to fame after his debut single “Grace” was released in 2019.

Before photographing and reviewing shows, I often check out the main act, however this time there was no need as I am already a huge fan of Thomas. I’ve actually seen him perform at the 02 Ritz in Manchester before and met him at a signing, so getting the opportunity to photograph and review his show was an absolute pleasure. Having seen Thomas perform before, I knew I was in for an exciting, energy-packed evening, and wow, did he deliver just that.

(Harriette_Credit: Elodie Hadfield)

Before Thomas joined us on stage, there were two support acts, ‘Harriette’ and ‘Will Joseph Cook‘, both of their names were new to me but I was excited to discover some new talent. Harriette was the first act to take the stage. She was already performing when I walked in; she was warming the crowd up for the rest of the evening. Harriette has a lovely soft tone to her voice, performing songs which I would define as a mixture between indie and pop. My personal favourite song was “Wednesday” a song written about feeling underappreciated and slightly lonely. This song will definitely be getting added to my playlist as even though the concept is sad, the song is upbeat and energetic, making for a good sing-along song. Harriette concluded her set with her most famous single “at least I’m pretty” which started out as an unfinished song on TikTok and after fans constantly asked where they could listen to the full single, she produced the full song and released it in 2021.

Following Harriette, was the very talented Will Joseph Cook. The first thing that struck me about Will was his energy, bouncing as he came out on stage buzzing to perform for the crowd. The crowd were equally as excited to see him, screaming and cheering his name. Will’s set kicked off with his song “Be Around Me” which is an upbeat, energy filled song perfect to get the crowd into a good mood for the rest of the evening. When I’m reviewing shows, I always jot down a couple words or opinions about the act while I’m at the gig and for Will, I simply put “good vibes” which I feel really sums up his performance, stage presence and the atmosphere in the venue throughout his set.

(Will Joseph Cook_Credit: Elodie Hadfield)

Once Will left the stage, there was a twenty-five-minute wait before Thomas Headon came out and during that time the venue had the best playlist queued up to pass the time. One song I remember going down very well was “Sunflower Vol. 6” by Harry Styles. The room just erupted with screams and cheers as song filled the Albert Hall. The track basically became Albert Hall featuring Harry Styles because you could no longer hear the actual track but rather the voices of 1800 people belting out “Sunflower”. At this moment, I knew this crowd was going to be an amazing one to perform to.

Dead on nine o’clock, the lights went out, and the crowd erupted once again, but this time the screams were the loudest of the night. There was a group of girls behind me, all holding each other’s hands and bouncing up and down in pure excitement that the man they had been waiting for all day was finally taking the stage. Then in typical Thomas fashion, with bundles of energy, he came sprinting out ready to put on the show of his life like always. Thomas kicked off his performance with his hit “How Do I Know?” and the crowd was absolutely loving it, hands in the air, singing the lyrics back at him. When Thomas performs, he has this cheeky, charming look as well as bucket loads of energy which just makes him memorising to watch. Also, without a doubt, he always has a smile on his face showing how obvious his love for music is, performing and singing for his fans truly is beautiful.

(Thomas Headon_Credit: Elodie Hadfield)

One of my favourite moments of the night was when Thomas did a cover of The 1975’s song “Sex”. I was that excited that I messaged my boyfriend, who came with me to the Leeds Festival to see them play, straight away saying “ahh he’s playing The 1975”. The cover was great and really got the crowd engaged and singing along, and you best believe I was belting out the words with the rest of Albert Hall. One of the crowd’s favourite songs though has to be Thomas’ cover of “The Best of Both Worlds” from Hannah Montana. For myself and a lot of people there, this will have been a pure reminder of their childhood, making me think about the days of chilling on the sofa watching Miley Cyrus live her double life. The moment was very special as the song provided a lot of nostalgia for many people, creating an atmosphere of sheer happiness.

Overall, I had the absolute best time at Thomas Headon’s Manchester show, and it was a true privilege to photograph and review, especially being someone I have seen in concert myself before. Thomas just has this ability to make you feel good through his performance which is such a gift and is the reason that I want to see him perform time and time again. I will definitely be seeing Thomas Headon play again whether that’s to photograph and review another one of his shows, or just to have a fun night out with my friends. 

Review by Elodie Hadfield

Photography by Elodie Hadfield

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