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London,
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Reader rating
Description: MOR/soft pop revival quintet from Sussex and London evoke memories of Bread, Supertramp and 10cc. Plus support from American rockers, The Fray.
Phone: 0844844 4748
Website: www.hammersmithapollo.net
Email: info@hammersmithapollo.net
Trains: Tube: Hammersmith 
Extra info: Pub
London five-piece The Feeling have a problem: getting the music cognoscenti to see them as anything other than cheesy chancers cynically peddling MOR guitar pop. Well, forget that and see them live.
They brought a sold-out Apollo to its feet on the last night of their tour, no small task in a venue with an atmosphere akin to a funeral on the moon.
They weren't helped by their support, either. US MOR muppets The Fray found fame when their track How To Save A Life was used on hit TV drama Grey's Anatomy. God knows why, they're purveyors of the worst type of pseudo-meaningful pop rock with their other talent being sending everyone to the bar.
But then came The Feeling, introduced by a huge screen playing video clips of fans singing along to their favourite Feeling tunes. It then illuminated the band in silhouette, before dramatically dropping to reveal the lads in the flesh.
Singer Dan Gillespie Sells was the consummate frontman, dressed in slim black trousers, white shirt, stylish spats and black waistcoat. He pirouetted insanely while still coaxing great licks from his guitar - all this backed by the tightest of bands, complete with pitch-perfect Beach Boys-esque harmonies. Credit must also go to Richard - husband of Sophie Ellis Bextor - as possibly the most energetic bassist ever to grace a stage and first to go mad when the band rocked out, as they often did.
Fill My Little World prompted a singalong - and a glowstick to be chucked at Dan. It only highlighted the span of their audience - cool teens to parents. Yes, there are musical references to Fleetwood Mac, Heart and Queen, but the songs are so life-fulfilling you'd have to be dead not to enjoy them.
Pop should always be about the melodies and this lot have them in spades, be it Sewn, Love It When You Call or Never Be Lonely. Even when they covered Buggles's Video Killed The Radio Star, they made it triumphantly their own. Another cover, Queen's Fat-Bottomed Girls, was an un-ironically joyous encore. Be cynical if you like, but you're missing out. The Feeling really do mean it.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
One of the best live bands on the circuit, and great that the album has sold so well. As for playing Hammersmith Apollo, the meteoric rise is incredible (considering that I have a video on my phone of them playing the 100 Club only a year ago) and this band can only go onwards and upwards.
- Dan, London
I saw these guys on Friday at The Apollo, and they were just fantastic. Even the most cynical of music fans couldn't resist singing along to 'I Love it When you Call' or 'Fill My Little World', which must be two of the catchiest and downright fun songs of the last 10 years. But The Feeling are much more than fun popsters - their musical ability is second to none, from Dan's haunting vocals on 'Rose' to Paul Stewart's slightly mental drums on 'Fat Bottom Girls'. They are really so versatile, especially live, and I cannot wait for the second album and the next tour!
- Vicky, London, UK
