Lawson at Soundcontrol Manchester Review
Lawson
Soundcontrol, Manchester
Reviewed by Brian Grehan
I love music especially in the live environment, so when I was asked to go and see a band play live I jumped at the opportunity. The band in question was Lawson playing live at Soundcontrol Manchester.
Fresh from supporting Robbie Williams on a major tour of Australia and New Zealand Lawson embark upon a tour of the United Kingdom. I had never heard of the band before even though they have had numerous top 20 hit singles so I entered the venue a bit unaware of what was about to hit me.
The first thing I noticed was that as a male I was a little outnumbered as the vast majority of the audience were female. I wondered what I had let myself in for. When the band hit the stage I understood why there was such a large percentage of females in the audience. They are all good looking individuals. If you can imagine a boy band but with the talent to actually play instruments and write their own material!
The band started out life as The Groves but they changed their name when a surgeon, Dr David Lawson, performed lifesaving surgery on the lead singer Andy Brown. And so Lawson were born. They have built up a large and loyal fanbase and opened for acts like The Wanted, Jessie J, Will Young and Avril Lavigne.
Their debut album Chapman Square was released in 2012 and they have just released and EP called Roads which they are promoting on this current tour.
As the fervour in the venue reached a high pitch the band walked onto the stage to an equally high pitched welcome. Not being familiar with the bands material I must admit that the songs they played were extremely catchy. I particularly liked Roads and Learn to Love Again. These 2 tracks are so damn catchy. This is probably the wrong thing to say but they reminded me of past Eurovision song contest winning songs the name of which escapes me. But they have that memorable chorus which gets inside your skull that you’re humming it days later and you don’t realise it!
Lawson tick all the boxes. They are talented musicians and write their own material which is an exception to the rule these days. This pleases me as the music in the charts lately has been mainly cover versions by karaoke song contest winners who last about 15 minutes and are soon forgotten about. So when a band comes along that can actually play and write their own material then they will stand out from the dross.
I did feel a little old and out of place at the show as they were so damn good looking a mere mortal like me would be a little envious. But having said that with the talent they have for writing catchy tunes the only way is up for Lawson. Andy Brown did promise that there would be a new album in 2016 and I hope that they continue with the formula that has worked so far for them.
I do hope that they come back to Manchester very soon and the way things are going they will be playing the bigger venues!
Get out and see them if you can!
Rating: 5/5 
Lawson are currently touring the UK and for more information, tour dates or to book tickets visit www.lawsonofficial.com.
