The Subways Ignite The Electric Ballroom in a High-Voltage, Hit-Packed Night
- Dave Broome
- Nov 24
- 3 min read
Electric Ballroom, London 21st November 2025
IMAGES DAVE BROOME / WORDS DAVE R TAYLOR
Things were hopping at The Electric Ballroom Friday, 21 Nov. as The Subways took to
the stage after a great set from the warm up band, Congratulations. They were the
surprise of the night and lit up the Ballroom. Congratulations are a Brighton-based 4-
piece group with massive talent (and colorful clothes that match their guitar colors...)
Great riffs on the guitars, solid mic-work on the drums, and powerful vocals from Leah
made for a great set. “This Life” is a well known track had the entire crowd singing
along.
The Subways took to the stage after a short intermission and kept the energy growing.
This Hertfordshire-formed 3-piece band ran through a set of 17 catchy, high-energy
tracks. Their work with top notch producers such as Ian Broudie (Lightning Seed) on
their first album Young For Eternity, Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins) on their
followup All or Nothing, and Stephen Street (the Smiths, Blur) on Money and Celebrity
has helped The Subways forge a clean, powerful edge to their music.
The trio of Billy Lunn on vocals and guitar (killer sounds from his Gibson SG!,) Charlotte
Cooper on bass, and Camille Phillips on drums have cranked out five studio albums
including their latest When I’m With You. Their first album, with Lunn’s brother Josh
Morgan on drums, included the massive hit “Rock and Roll Queen” with nearly 100
million listens on Spotify. The band currently have just shy of half a million monthly
listeners on that platform.
Their stage show is a carefully orchestrated experience, from the band-selected intro
music (Willy Wonka, Chariots of Fire) to the massive energy on stage and engaging
banter with the crowd. Billy told a story about growing up in council housing and finding
his first guitar that was left behind by a boarder. It’s cool that he still lives in his
hometown, Welwyn Garden City – pretty down to earth. He explained that he’d written
the song “Mary” as a tribute to his best friend – his mother. I appreciated how they
moved through their entire set without a break prior to encore. Cool move.
They started their “Holiday” track with a flashy light show and some killer drum riffs by
Camille. Her drums were the best mic-ed equipment in the show. You could feel them
in your bones.
The crowd had clearly been fans for years, as they knew all the songs. Billy
commented how great it was that they’d had such a devoted following for so long. He
forged a real connection with the crowd. And then did his signature crowd-dive on his
last song, “Rock and Roll Queen.” Great finish to the night.
The Subways are now off to Europe to continue their tour and we wish them ongoing
success.
SET LIST
1. Oh Yeah
2. Black Wax
3. We Don't Need Money to Have a Good Time
4. Passengers Side
5. My Heart Is Pumping to a Brand New Beat
6. Holiday
7. Kalifornia
8. Mary
9. Popdeath
10. At 1 AM
11. Turnaround
12. I Want to Hear What You Have Got to Say
13. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
14. Girls & Boys
15. I Need to Feel You Closer
16. With You
17. Rock & Roll Queen
FOLLOW THE SUBWAYS
Comments