“It’s f***ing insane to be in a venue like this, there’s two upstairs! What the f***”
Bastille performed at Manchester AO Arena on Friday, November 14, to perform their favourite hits from the last 15 years(Image: Joe Horridge)
Dan Smith, Will Farquarson, Kyle Simmons and Chris Wood sat down together one night.
For the first time ever, they listened to all of their albums – front to back – to decide which of their tracks to play on tour.
It was a conversation which ended with Bastille on stage at Manchester AO Arena on Friday night (November 14), performing their favourite hits from the last 15 years.
The From All Sides 2025 Tour, announced back in March, set out to be a celebration of the band’s career to date.
And that it was.
Kicking off their AO gig, Bastille got things underway with Things We Lost in the Fire from their 2013 album All This Bad Blood, before speeding it up with dance track Shut Off The Lights from their 2022 Give Me The Future album.
Guitarist Kyle Simmons joined band mates Dan Smith, Will Farquarson, and Chris Wood(Image: Joe Horridge)
Following that came Thelma + Louise, Warmth, Flaws, and then the emotional Oblivion.
On this tour, the band have been joined by two new musicians – AK Patterson providing back up vocals and various instruments and Gabi King on percussion.
AK is a London-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with the voice of an angel, who became the perfect complement to Dan’s husky, soft tones.
After playing a few more hits, What You Gonna Do, Fake It, Hope For The Future and Doom Days, the band set up a DJ deck to perform an amalgamation of hits including Bite Down, No Angels, Requiem for Blue Jeans, and What Would You Do among others.
The DJ section of the gig gave the band an opportunity to get through a few more of their popular hits, without having to perform them start to finish.
Bastille also performed an unreleased song, Save My Soul, which they have only performed for the first time on this tour.
And I know what you’re waiting for… did they play Pompeii?
Bastille waited until the last moment to play their much-loved hit Pompeii(Image: Joe Horridge)
Although it is their most famous hit, and possibly the one fans were waiting for, Bastille waited until the very last moment, which ultimately and inevitably set every audience member on their feet.
The fourth single from their debut album Bad Blood, it was released in 2013 and propelled the indie pop band into stardom.
Now, I feel like I’m betraying Dan by sharing this, but share I will nonetheless. During the night, someone in the crowd needed some help, so Dan stopped the show while the staff assisted.
Dan’s topics to fill the time were very entertaining, ranging from stories about Justin Bieber’s time-filling chat to randomly (and jokingly) slating Lewis Capaldi.
Bastille performed at Manchester AO Arena on Friday, November 14(Image: Joe Horridge)
Looking at the gigantic venue, h said: “It’s f***ing insane to be in a venue like this, there’s two upstairs! What the f***”
Although I loved it, Dan seemed to experience slight post-yap embarrassment about five minutes later as he admitted: “All I can think about is how sh** I was at filling time before.
“That’s gotta go down as the worst stage chat in the history of the world. Can we all agree to pretend that never happened?” I’m sorry, Dan.
This was my third time seeing Bastille perform, and each time I think I walk out a slightly bigger fan.
Between Dan’s infectious cheesy dance moves, pitch-perfect husky voice and their emotional and powerful songs, it’s always a perfect night.
Bastille were joined by Sofia Camara and Better Joy as support at Manchester AO Arena during their 2025 From All Sides Tour.