Words and Pictures: Adrian Hextall / (C) MindHex Media
I first saw Royal Republic back in 2013. A side stage at Rock The Beach Festival in Helskini, mid afternoon, a band touring in support of their second album and this one track, from their debut…. ‘Tommy Gun’ that somehow burrowed deep into the brain, lodged itself in such a way that could never be removed. And that my friends is how you discover a band for the first time and never let go.
The band have gone from strength to strength over the years with ‘Weekend Man’ being a notable highlight both commercially and critically for them. Latest album, and the one that they are currently touring the world with, is ‘Lovecop’. To say the music on the album is a joy to behold would be an understatement. It’s truly glorious, it’s probably one of my top 5 albums of 2024 and will definitely be in the running for one of the best of the 2020s. Fired up and excited to see what the band could bring to the table, fans flocked to London which resulted in the show at the Electric Ballroom being packed out on Halloween and, as such, a strange collection of beings graced the floor as people took advantage of the opportunity to wear fancy dress. Shiny suits, alien faces, neon masks, you name it, someone on the floor was wearing it. After all, ‘Everybody wants to be an Astronaut’ don’t they? (cough!).
Who knows what support act Dea Matrona thought when they hit the stage to warm up an already excited crowd.
Dea Matrona
Dea Matrona which translates to “divine mother goddess” in Celtic mythology hail from Belfast. Fronted my musical (if not blood) sisters Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn, their music, influenced by Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles ensured that their breezy, colourful and energised approach to their performance captivated and focused many a mind who had initially turned out for the headliners.
Smiles galore, glorious (and I mean glorious) harmonies on some of the songs, swapping leads vocals with so much ease that it felt like someone in the studio kept flicking the faders from one side to the other throughout the set.
The addition of a second guitarist was a welcome one. Historically the band had performed as a trio with Orlaith and Mollie handling bass and guitar as well as vocals. With a second guitarist on stage with them, the sound was harder, fuller and suggests that whatever comes next will really be noticed as the band step up a gear on the many festival stages they must surely be booked for in 2025.
A new and exciting discovery for me and a fair few new fans in the crowd as well.
Royal Republic
‘Lovecop’ the album that currently sees Royal Republic riding the crest of a wave of popularity is, no word of a lie, an absolute joy to listen to. It’s uplifting, it’s fun, heck it’s funny as hell. It’s loud, it’s proud and if the world was a fair place, it would outsell anything that Taylor Swift put out and then some.
Such is the confidence in the album (and it’s very, very well justified) the band opened with the duo of ‘My House’ and ‘Lovecop’. The singalongs commenced and never stopped for the duration of the set. Dressed in tight leather outfits with more than a few tassels and sequins to embellish the look of all of the band members, the smiles, wider than the Øresund Bridge that connects Copenhagen to Malmö (the band’s hometown), said it all.
For the detractors, those that have considered Royal Republic a ‘pop group’ rather than a hard rock band, the band went a step further and proved (even though they were playing to a friendly crowd) their metal credentials by continuously dropping snippets of Metallica tunes into the set. More importantly they pick only the bangers from the ‘classic’ era of Metallica and as the night progresses we get pieces from ‘…and Justice For All’ and ‘Ride The Lightning’. Everybody cheered, everybody danced, everybody moshed. What more could we ask for?
Well, I tell you what… how about a mid-set acoustic set? Yep, we can do that. The quartet somehow managed to deliver what should be absolute electric stormers with vocal harmonies, a cymbal, and, wait…. what??? A tiny french horn and a piccolo. How the hell could that work? We it does and it did. Yes, comedy gold ensued but that’s what we want from Royal Republic. This isn’t a parody band. This isn’t a band that plays the stupid card just to present something different. This is a band that adds humour to what they do because of the amount of enjoyment they clearly get from performing. It helps, I’m sure, that the four band members have been together since the beginning. Too many artists chop and change lineups over the course of their careers but Royal Republic have been going since 2007 and it shows. That and the most glorious collection of mustaches that Adam, Hannes and Jonas all sport. Drummer Per Andreasson pulled a Frank Beard of ZZ Top by of course being the only one who doesn’t have the facial fuzz and it’s just another quirk that makes us love these guys all the more.
A fantastic set, the new with the old and the metal(lica) bits combining to give us exactly what we needed on a Halloween night out.
SETLIST
My House
LoveCop
Getting Along (With snippet of Metallica’s ‘…and Justice For All’)
Baby
Boots
Stop Movin’
Anna-Leigh
Back from the Dead
Freakshow
Full Steam Spacemachine (With snippets of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning”)
Wow! Wow! Wow! (Acoustic close harmony)
Boomerang (Acoustic Close Harmony)
Electra
Ain’t Got Time (with Tom playing the cowbell)
Fireman & Dancer
Tommy-Gun (With snippet of Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning””)
Encore:
Lazerlove
Battery (Metallica cover)
RATA-TATA
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