Roger Taylor – Violence Insane in a Beautiful World at O2 City Hall, Newcastle
O2 City Hall, Newcastle – 21st September 2026
Words H Palmer / Images Paul W Dixon
There are gigs where you go along knowing you're going to see a good show, and then there are gigs where you walk through the doors carrying the weight of music history on your shoulders. Roger Taylor at Newcastle's O2 City Hall is very much the latter.
Because this isn't just another bloke with a guitar and a catalogue of songs coming through town. This is Roger Taylor. Drummer, songwriter, vocalist, Queen member and one of the architects of some of the biggest, loudest and most gloriously ridiculous moments in British rock history.
And tonight, Newcastle gets him in a room that feels almost ridiculously intimate for a musician of his stature.
The O2 City Hall has always had that peculiar magic. It's big enough to generate a serious noise but small enough that you can still feel like you're actually in the room with the people on stage. Tonight, though, there is no mistaking that something considerably bigger than your average City Hall gig is about to happen. Two tour buses sit outside, with trucks stacked up alongside them, while inside a full production has transformed the stage.
This isn't some stripped-back nostalgia trip.
Roger Taylor has arrived with intent.
The Violence Insane in a Beautiful World Tour is built around his new solo material, but there is obviously a considerable chunk of history sitting in the wings. The challenge for any artist with a catalogue like Taylor's is avoiding the museum-piece treatment. Tonight never feels like that. These songs aren't wheeled out, dusted down and placed behind glass. They are played like they still matter.
And judging by the crowd, they do.
The atmosphere inside the City Hall is already buzzing before the first note is played. There's that particular pre-gig murmur that only happens when people know they're about to witness something special. Conversations overlap, drinks disappear, phones come out and then, suddenly, the lights drop.
The opening chords of “Strange Frontier” hit the room.
And Newcastle erupts.
The applause that follows is huge, but there's something else in the reaction too. A sense of recognition. Taylor's shoulders visibly relax, a smile breaks through, and for a moment it looks as though he knows exactly what kind of night this is going to be.
A belter.
And the audience knows it too.
From there, the set wastes very little time getting down to business. “A Nation of Haircuts” and “Gangsters Are Running This World” bring the solo catalogue into sharp focus, and Taylor's band prove themselves more than capable of carrying these songs into a live environment.
This is where the evening really starts to work.
There is a danger with musicians who have spent decades playing at the highest level that everything can become too polished. Too rehearsed. Too safe. Tonight, thankfully, there is enough looseness around the edges to make the performance feel alive. The musicianship is, as you'd expect, exceptional, but there is also room for the band to play with the moment.
And Newcastle responds accordingly.
“Surrender” and “I See You Now” keep the momentum moving before the inevitable roar that greets “I'm In Love With My Car.”
Of course it does.
There are songs that belong to their writers and songs that, after enough years, somehow become public property. This is one of them. Hearing that voice come out across the City Hall is one of those moments where you suddenly remember just how deeply embedded Queen's music is in the collective consciousness.
But tonight isn't simply a Queen greatest-hits exercise.
That's important.
The new material is being received with genuine enthusiasm, sitting comfortably alongside the older songs rather than being treated as something the audience has to politely endure before the familiar stuff arrives.
“Absolutely Anything” gets a strong response, before “Violence Insane” brings the evening's title into sharp focus.
It's a curious thing to watch an audience that spans generations respond to the same music. There are people here who will have bought Queen records when they were originally released, alongside younger fans who have discovered Taylor's music decades later. The generational divide simply doesn't seem to matter.
Music has a nasty habit of doing that.
It ignores the dates printed on the sleeve.
“Don't Photograph Food” follows, then comes “These Are The Days Of Our Lives”, and suddenly the mood shifts. There's something wonderfully human about the song, and the performance allows the audience a moment to breathe before the machinery kicks back in.
Then it's straight into “Rock It (Prime Jive)”.
And this is where the City Hall really starts to feel like a rock'n'roll venue rather than a concert hall.
The crowd are on their feet, singing, shouting and throwing themselves into the evening. There's no sense of passive consumption here. Newcastle has come to participate.
Taylor's hand-picked band are central to that feeling. Every player understands the assignment, but nobody appears interested in simply going through the motions. The arrangements have enough muscle to fill the room without losing the intimacy that makes the venue work so well.
Then comes “Jealous Guy”, followed by “Dear Mr Murdoch” and “Chump.”
The set continues to jump between eras, moods and styles, refusing to settle comfortably into one particular box.
And then comes “Under Pressure.”
Now you've got a room full of people singing one of the most recognisable songs in modern British music, and for a few minutes the City Hall feels considerably larger than it actually is.
The song carries all the weight of its history, but tonight it doesn't feel like a tribute to the past. It feels alive.
“Man On Fire” follows, and by now Taylor and the band have the room exactly where they want it.
The title is almost too appropriate.
There is no sense of a veteran musician simply clocking in and performing the old songs because that's what people expect. There is energy here. There's hunger. There's still something to prove.
And perhaps that's the secret.
Rock music has always been at its best when it sounds like somebody still has something to get off their chest.
The main set continues with “Rock And Roll”, which does exactly what it says on the tin. No intellectual gymnastics required. Just guitars, drums, noise and a room full of people losing themselves in it.
Then comes “A Kind of Magic.”
Another roar.
Another reminder that Taylor's history isn't just history. It is part of the soundtrack of people's lives.
But there is still more to come.
“A Beautiful World” brings the evening back towards the new material, before “Come On Summer” carries the show towards its conclusion.
And then, inevitably, “Radio Ga Ga.”
The hands go up.
The clapping starts.
And suddenly the O2 City Hall is doing what thousands of venues around the world have done for decades.
The audience becomes part of the song.
It is one of those moments that could easily become corny in lesser hands. Tonight it doesn't. The room owns it. Taylor lets it happen. The band drives it forward and Newcastle responds with everything it has left.
For a tour opener, this is about as positive a response as any artist could ask for.
There is something reassuringly old-fashioned about the whole evening. No gimmicks are required. No desperate attempts to convince anyone that rock music needs reinventing. Just great songs, great musicians, a properly constructed production and an audience prepared to give something back.
And that's perhaps what stands out most.
The exchange.
The band give everything to the crowd and the crowd give it straight back.
From the opening chords of “Strange Frontier” to the final communal eruption of “Radio Ga Ga,” the Newcastle audience is fully invested. The new songs are welcomed. The classics are celebrated. The musicianship is impeccable and the production gives everything the space it needs without overwhelming the music.
Roger Taylor remains a Man On Fire.
At the O2 City Hall, he proved that the past doesn't have to be preserved in amber. It can still make a hell of a noise.
And tonight, Newcastle made sure he knew it.
SET LIST
Strange Frontier
A Nation of Haircuts
Gangsters Are Running This World
Surrender
I See You Now
I'm In Love With My Car
Absolutely Anything
Violence Insane
Don't Photograph Food
These Are The Days Of Our Lives
Rock It (Prime Jive)
Jealous Guy
Dear Mr Murdoch
Chump
Under Pressure
Man On Fire
Rock And Roll
A Kind of Magic
A Beautiful World
Come On Summer
Radio Ga Ga
CONNECT WITH ROGER TAYLOR
Comments