Indie pop-rock quartet The Kooks brought a night of nostalgia to Newcastle with their sold out ‘Best of… so far’ tour.

The band from Brighton who rose to fame in 2004 sold out the O2 academy which holds an impressive 2000 people.

Before the band took to the stage a huge curtain fell wrapping the crowd up in mystery and suspense, leaving only spotlights to illuminate them as they walked on stage. As the tension grew so did the screams of the fans only for the curtain to fall as the band started with their opening number ‘Eddies Gun’.

The night was filled with classic hits from a decade’s worth of their back catalogue all orchestrated by lead singer Luke Pritchard, guitarist Hugh Harris, drummer Alexis Nunez and bass player Peter Denton.

It wasn’t long before the quartet took fans on a whirlwind journey back to hits such as ‘Always where I need to be’, ‘You don’t love me’, ‘See the world’ and ‘Down’, before taking fans back to June 2006 with their timeless classic ‘She moves in her own way’. Greeted with screams and cheers the number had fans punching the air and singing the catchy pop melody back to the band who filled every second of the performace with energy, passion and love.

The band however switched the tone of the night by playing their acoustic 2006 hit ‘Seaside’ which saw a wave of lights illuminate the academy. However, it wasn’t long before the crowd were back on their feet as they concluded their set with ‘Around town’, ‘Shine on’ and ‘Naïve’.

While the band ended the hour and a half set with fans craving more, it was obvious that there still is a lot more to come from this very talented group!

Sarah Smith