Beabadoobee at Lafayette for BRITs Week War Child 2023

As part of BRITs week in association with War Child, the small, intimate Lafayette played host to Beabadoobee. The crowd was very young and excitable; raspberry-coloured hair and beanie hats abounded, with the occasional lurking dad who wouldn’t let the kid go into central London on Friday night alone. The vibe level was at “shriek”.

Beabadoobee came on stage to deafening adoration. She was wearing 90s revival: off-the-shoulder top with flared sleeves and a rose motif, low-slung cargo-style miniskirt and knee-high flatforms. She has the hair of a pop star – glossy and charismatic in its own right. The prolific 22-year-old has already released five EPs and two albums on the Dirty Hit label, so there were plenty of songs to choose from for the set and the crowd undoubtedly would have known every word to whatever the selection. Teddies as fuzzy tributes were thrown on stage throughout.

The music was pure 90s-style indie pop, sonically descended from one-hit wonder Sixpence None the Richer’s Kiss Me, with its romantic lyrics and super sweet vocals. Catchy hit Care got a bit sassy; Perfect Pair was the standout song, a smooth bossanova accompaniment to her controlled and sky-high voice.

There was an acoustic interlude where the rest of the band happily trotted off stage for Beabadoobee to sit with her acoustic guitar and play breakthrough hit Coffee and latest release Glue Song. She told the audience, “It’s been a while since I played a venue like this – I can see all your faces.” The gig was peppered with mutual “I love yous”, blown kisses and smeared hand grabs. Once the band came back, things got a little rockier. There was some polite head-banging and a tentative mosh pit broke out before being decided against. In one song, Beabadoobee let out a dog whistle high yip before a bit of thrashing. At the end, plectrums and drumsticks were thrown into the crowd, while the drummer mischievously dunked a bottle of water over a screaming area.

It’s no disrespect to say that this is music engineered to create a safe approximation of actual indie rock for the anxiety-ridden Gen Z-ers. The lyrics are stringently quotidian (Coffee is literally about making someone a coffee with their preferred amount of sugar) and the tunes are all fairly familiar, but it seems to work. Beabadoobee herself is undeniably adorable in a studied way. She’s the musical equivalent of Love Hearts sweets.

Jessica Wall
Photos: Patrick Gunning/War Child UK

For further information and future events visit Beabadoobee’s website here.

Listen to Perfect Pair here: