2 years ago
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Image source, Paul Griffiths
Fans spoke of their surprise when Ian Brown emerged on stage in Leeds without any other musicians
Fans of Ian Brown say they were left disappointed after the opening night of his tour featured no band, with the singer performing to backing tracks.
The Stone Roses frontman performed a 23-song set at O2 Academy Leeds on Sunday night, with no one accompanying him on stage.
A number of fans said they paid more than £45 for a ticket and felt the performance did not match expectations.
But others defended the show, saying Brown's "new set-up works".
Paul Griffiths, from Bradford, paid £47.50 for his ticket and said he "couldn't believe it" when Brown walked on stage without any other musicians.
Mr Griffiths, who has been a fan for more than 20 years, said: "We did stay until the end but my mate wanted to leave after the first song.
"You had the drunk people that weren't too bothered but most were pretty cheesed off."
The fan, who was in the balcony section of the venue, added: "We expected a band, it's just a given really".
Brown, who came on stage shortly after 21:00 BST, performed a set spanning his seven solo albums, with the tour set to reach Glasgow on Monday and Edinburgh on Tuesday.
Steven Latham, from Leeds, who paid £45 for a ticket, said: "I've seen him live as a solo act before and while there's an acceptance that his voice won't be great, the live performance aspect is where the energy comes from.
"Sadly there wasn't a band, so there was no energetic drummer, no masterful guitarist, just him singing along badly to a backing track - it just left me cold and disinterested."
He added: "Very little effort was put in planning these gigs and for that sort of ticket price it's scandalous and disrespectful."
After a video of the performance went viral on social media, the post-punk duo Sleaford Mods tweeted: "Ian Brown's solo stuff has always been more hip hop and beat orientated so his new set-up works.
"It's not like he's Black Sabbath or summat is it."
The tour is also due to visit Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Nottingham and London, with several of the dates sold out.
Steve Knight, a fan who was at the concert, posted: "If you are a fan of Ian Brown's solo stuff and you have tickets for his tour, you'll love it but don't go expecting Stone Roses songs or a backing band as he has neither."
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