Scouting For Girls Bring Their 15th Anniversary Of "Everybody Wants to be on TV" Celebrations to Liverpool
- Desh Kapur
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
O2 Academy Liverpool – 23rd March 2026
WORDS / IMAGES L J HUBBARD
Scouting For Girls have been touring the UK over the past month to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their classic second album ‘Everybody Wants to be on TV’. On Monday night it was Liverpool’s turn to join in the fun.
The Souls, the first openers of the evening, quickly took to the stage as the audience began to pour in. They are an alternative rock band from Switzerland that have a very 1975-esque sound. The band won the audience over with a performance of Djo’s ‘End of Beginning’ which got everyone singing along straight away after an already incredible start.
After a few more crowd-energisers, it was time for the first audience participation of the night with their song ‘Bangladesh’, which had everyone echoing back a catchy vocal riff to the band. The audience was singing ‘Bangladesh’ right up until Billy Lockett, the second support act, which was a perfect finale to an amazing performance.
Lockett’s stage set up was entirely different from the previous one, consisting only of an acoustic guitar and a keyboard. His opening song, a sombre piano ballad, introduced the set’s mix of lively guitar tunes and these beautifully poignant songs of his experience in the world following his father’s passing. As a way of keeping them together during his performances, Lockett kept a scaled-up message given to him by his late father behind him reminding him that ‘things are looking up’.
As Lockett sang about his recent struggles and how his friends rushed to his aid and offered him all their love and support when he needed it most – “saving his life”, he told the audience – there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
As the show came to an end, the stage was illuminated by the audience’s torches, which was an amazing end to an emotive, intimate set.
The lights went down for a final time, the audience’s enthusiasm reached absolute highs as Scouting For Girls and their band took to the stage one by one with energy that made it feel like it was the tour’s first night, not one of the last.
They got straight down to business, starting the show with ‘Famous’, which was a fantastic way to get the ball rolling. Roy Stride, the band’s frontman, brought a camera onstage and pointed it towards the crowd, showing them all on the screen behind the band – their opportunity to be ‘on TV’.
Stride’s energy as he rushed from one end of the stage to the other blew me away. His vigour truly made the show; I honestly don’t know how he does it after almost 20 years of performing with Scouting For Girls. The excitement did not stop there as Stride switched between three different instruments, keeping the crowd on their toes as they waited to see what was going to do next.
After a few more firm favourites, including a mashup of ‘Gotta Keep Smiling’ and ‘Come on Eileen’, a particularly memorable moment happened about halfway through when Stride unexpectedly raced up the back stairs and onto the balcony, parking next to a very surprised fan and chatting to the audience about how the band realised they needed to write some more fun songs, which led to the tracks that made them famous like ‘James Bond , ‘1+1’ and the most-requested song of the tour ‘Posh Girls’.
As the opening chords of ‘Posh Girls’ began to play, the audience was ecstatic as Stride legged it back down the stairs to the stage. Stride urged the audience to shout the words at the top of their lungs, “Is that the best you can do, Liverpool?” The lyrics flashed up on screen and the room erupted with voices chanting, “Posh girls have good manners, but they go like the clappers ‘Cause they never got to hang out with the boys at school!” It was so loud, I wouldn’t be shocked if you could hear it all the way over in Manchester.
The encore wasn’t your usual few-minute interval with the crowd chanting ‘one more song’, it was a whole other bit in itself as the sound of a phone ringing filled the venue and none other than Michaela Strachan popped up on screen. The room filled with applause and laughter as the presenter virtually welcomed the band back on stage to perform (you guessed it!) Michaela Strachan.
You couldn’t have a Scouting For Girls gig without hearing their iconic track ‘She’s So Lovely’ from their self-titled debut album. This quite literally blew the roof off, I was on the balcony at this point, and it felt like the entire room was shaking with all the jumping and dancing going on all around the venue. It’s an absolute belter of a tune that had everyone up on their feet, from young kids to mums and dads who’d been brought along. It was a stellar performance and so lovely to see everyone enjoying the moment and celebrating such a wonderful band all these years later.
The amount of dancing and singing that was happening across the entire venue quite literally blew the roof off – everyone was jumping along to this incredible song, from huge friend groups to parents who’d been brought along by their kids. It truly was a fantastic show, and it was amazing to see everyone having the time of their lives and honouring such an all-star band after all these years.
Scouting For Girls have a wonderful relationship with their fans and genuinely love every second of what they do. Their energy radiates off the stage, leaving everyone beaming as they leave the venue, eager to do it all over again when the band turn 20 next year.
SET LIST
Famous
Little Miss Naughty
On the Radio
This Ain't a Love Song
Gotta Keep Smiling / Come on Eileen
1+1
Don't Want to Leave You
Posh Girls
It's Not About You
I Wish I Was James Bond
The Missing Part
These Are the Good Days
Heartbeat
Elvis Ain't Dead / Can't Help Falling in Love
ENCORE
Michaela Strachan
She's So Lovely
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