What do you think of when you imagine a Yungblud gig? Doncaster’s own spitting beer on an ever-growing, ever-hysterical crowd of screaming teen fans? Elvis-eqsue hip movements that would outrage your nan? Queues that could rival that one for the queen? Yep - you’re pretty much right.
But as Dom Harrison sets out on his latest world tour to celebrate his new self-titled album, something is different. Half rock show and half play, more akin to a rock opera than the type of gig you might expect from the artist, they new show is shocking old fans and winning over new ones as it makes it way round the UK before heading overseas.
And the man behind it all, Sam Tozer, knew it would be a hit. Sitting down to tell us about the process of building a new show from scratch, and merging the worlds of Tim Burton, AC DC and Yungblud - we went behind the scenes…
GW: When did you get brought into the Yungblud project?
ST: I started with Yungblud in like 2016 on some creative ideas for his earlier tours and then I sort of dropped off the camp. Then I was brought back around December to develop this new show. So it’s been pretty recent, actually - this show has been a quick turnaround to be ready for tour.
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Where do you even begin when it comes to developing a new show?
Well, I think the first thing we start with is obviously, Dom. He’s an incredibly passionate artists and has some very big ideas for what he wants on his stage - so we always start there. And then I sort of take his ideas, do my own twist on them and deliver it to him in that sort of direction. But Yungblud himself has the craziest ideas that you could ever imagine all the time, so it’s about being able to deliver that in a way that’s understood by his audience.
What were some of the ideas or inspirations that he brought to you? Were there any real concrete inspirations in terms of artists, films, directions?
The main overall design and concept for this world tour is a Tim Burton-esque stylised narrative of his discography. He wanted to have every part of his music visually built into this crazy, stylised, adventurous, gothic world that we tried to create for him.
Once we had that basis then we started developing the show around this narrative, breaking down into four acts; the first being all about introducing him, the second going right back to his debut album 21st Century Liability where the stage with the toilet seat and the sink returns to the mental asylum visuals of that album, and then for the second half we open up into the big open arena space that he’s now performing in with all his fans.
It is a pretty significant step up in terms of venue size for Yungblud as he’s been climbing up the live circuit ladder. Were there any nerves in the team about translating to an arena scale?
Not at all. I think in his head Dom is always playing arenas, it’s always been about wanting to be in big rooms. I don't think there's ever been any worry for him personally - he's a stadium artist, he will be there and you can see that when you watch his performance. So it was just about creating a show that sort of matches his presence on stage. The show isn’t supposed to hide or distract from him as a performer but elevate him to the next level.
I know fan connection is a massive thing for him which is a lot harder to achieve in bigger venues - how’re you managing to ensure the interaction is still there? Or what were some of his requirements for it?
That’s why we have the B stage, which we try to put smack in the middle of his biggest fans in the middle of the room. The section performed there where he’s literally in the midst of his fans brings that connection. But it’s in all the little things. If you look carefully within the set, there's loads of little easter eggs that we put in there. Like there's little bits of graffiti on the walls,with black heart Club, which is his fan group, or quotes or moments from his instagram that’re within the set. So when the fans watch the show more than once they'll start picking up these moments that you wouldn't notice if you were just looking at the whole thing.
It’s cool as well making that more of an experience that fans that might not be able to catch the show can still get involved with online…
Yeah, obviously we have to think about social media a lot nowadays. So it’s been about creating big moments, like the intro piece where Dom is silhouetted like an old Prince show and then all of a sudden, these horns come out and his wings, and he becomes this devil character - that's now going viral on Instagram at the moment.
And then there's also an interlude section, smack in the middle of the show, where Dom has sat down with his comic writer and created this story he wanted to portray on stage in a different way than playing music. So we directed this theatrical moment in the middle of the show for people just to breathe and understand the message that Don wants to portray. And there's some cool gimmicks like rain machines, and he's got his umbrella and smokes a cigarette, and it feels very dramatic but that's the moment I feel like everybody just takes a breath before we go into a crazy rock show again.
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That moment to breathe feels really important, especially for Yungblud’s fans. I know he’s big on safety and has set up mental health support stations and safe spaces as the venues…
Yeah, absolutely. Yungblud and his fans are like a big family and everybody should feel safe in that space. And I think this is what the monologue piece in the middle of the show is all about.
It’s interesting you mentioned Prince as I really picked up that 70s/80s maximalist vibe - were there any of Dom’s ideas that were simply too big and you had to pull back a little?
Quite a few but they came from both of us - it was hard to not get carried away. The set is based on an oil storage facility in Doncaster but originally, I had this idea like this AC DC video where they’re on this big, curved metal structure, and they're all hanging off it and all these fans are going crazy. But we quickly had to scale it back into a more sensible thing. I also had an idea to have a stunt double that burns alive on stage - there were some crazy ideas thrown out there. But I think the show got to a point where it's not gimmicky, it's just like a big rock show. And it feels like a new age rock show rather than trying to copy an AC DC or Metallica; it’s fresh.
I thought it feels like the kind of chaos that Sex Pistols would’ve been getting up to if they ever made it to arenas or tours…
Yeah, exactly!
If you had to boil it down to the core aesthetic, how would you describe the show?
I think the whole thing looks like a grungy Tim Burton-esque theatre set. We’'ve lit the show in a way that feels more like a theatre rather than a rock venue and then, as the show progresses, more elements get stripped back and drapes drop, that's when we start seeing the traditional rock lighting. But overall, it’s elevated, it’s more like a play than what you’d expect.
People are always quick to doubt Yungblud or shrug him off but his live shows have always been infectious. Do you think this show will convince new fans?
I think honestly when I watch the show back, it's an enjoyable show, no matter if you've liked his music before or not. They've worked with an incredible music director as well but beyond that - the whole piece is a full experience, rather than watching four band members just play instruments. It's more of a show rather than a gig.
And in his own words, Yungblud talks about production:
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