The Kooks marked the 20th anniversary of their debut album Inside In/Inside Out with a spectacular homecoming show at London's Old Naval College on Friday, July 31. The gig, part of the Labyrinth on the Thames series, drew a crowd of 10,000 and ended with fireworks over the River Thames.
A night of nostalgia by the Thames
Frontman Luke Pritchard, armed with an acoustic guitar, delivered boyish vocals that sounded as crisp as in 2006. The historic venue, with the river and London skyline as a backdrop, set the scene for a trip down memory lane.
Pritchard shared his personal connection to the area: "I spent half my childhood running around Greenwich - my mum's shop was literally a stone's throw away. Those buildings, that riverside, it's all tied up with my earliest memories of music and discovering who I wanted to be."
Support acts and setlist highlights
Support came from Circa Waves, Tom A. Smith, and Girl In The Year Above, whose vocalist Jennifer Ball drew comparisons to Florence Welch. The Kooks opened with Sofa Song, Always Where I Need to Be, and Eddie's Gun, before thrilling the crowd with She Moves In Her Own Way.
Classics like You Don't Love Me, Ooh La, and Jackie Big Tits sparked singalongs across the Baroque buildings. A stripped-back Seaside turned the audience into a unified choir.
Emotional moments and new momentum
An emotional Pritchard told the crowd: "You guys are beautiful. You're unbelievable. I'm an emotional guy, and I might start tearing up. This is amazing."
The band showed they still have momentum, having played their biggest UK headline shows last year and with new music on the way. Their seventh album Never/Know reached number 5 in the UK charts, boosted by a new Gen Z fanbase on TikTok.
Pritchard dedicated See Me Now to his late father, who died when he was three. He explained: "I was doing a lot of soul searching in my life, and I realised the whole reason why I make music and write songs is because of my Dad. I lost my Dad when I was a kid; I was three years old. We actually used to live in Forest Hill, just down the road. He left me a box of records and a Gibson Les Paul."
Fireworks finale
The encore featured Ooh La and Naive, with fireworks lighting the sky in red and gold as Pritchard sang the fitting lyric: "Hold on to your kite/Just don't let me down." The night earned a five-star review.
