R&L 2027

[charlierc]

15 minutes ago, JimMacVeigh said:

Full on stadiums, am I right?

 

I mean, they, like Biffy, did Finsbury and I think Biffy have also headlined Bellahouston Park, but Huddersfield and Cardiff do give them the edge.

 

Admittedly I'm aware there's a Welsh stronghold thing there as they're a Welsh band doing two nights at the Principality Stadium added after the shows went on sale. But to do that and also do a full arena tour, which is going on this week, hints there's strength in their band's brand. And I say this as someone who finds them boring.

[northernangel]

12 hours ago, Andre91 said:

Hahaha, to think that little old me’s opinion matters that much? N’awwww. 
 

I'm joking. But yeah, it pains me to say it, but, after the release of this last album (which I think is proper bum) to absolutely no fanfare, I think they’ll be in that Stereophonics position where they can headline arenas until the day they stop but they won’t be considered for the big fests. 

I use you because you're the biggest hold on to them which isn't a bad thing

[northernangel]

22 minutes ago, charlierc said:

 

I mean, they, like Biffy, did Finsbury and I think Biffy have also headlined Bellahouston Park, but Huddersfield and Cardiff do give them the edge.

 

Admittedly I'm aware there's a Welsh stronghold thing there as they're a Welsh band doing two nights at the Principality Stadium added after the shows went on sale. But to do that and also do a full arena tour, which is going on this week, hints there's strength in their band's brand. And I say this as someone who finds them boring.

 

Yeah I mean Biffy didn't even sell out their outside Scottish date and Phonics have the Welsh angle. Huddersfield, Cork, Belsonic and Finsbury are nothing to greatly about about, Kasabian are doing Finsbury.

[northernangel]

13 hours ago, Andre91 said:

Hahaha, to think that little old me’s opinion matters that much? N’awwww. 
 

I'm joking. But yeah, it pains me to say it, but, after the release of this last album (which I think is proper bum) to absolutely no fanfare, I think they’ll be in that Stereophonics position where they can headline arenas until the day they stop but they won’t be considered for the big fests. 

I actually like A little love the single itself but not much else.

[Andre91]

I didn’t know Stereophonics were now playing stadiums. I used them as an example because they’ve been playing arenas for years and years but not really getting touched by the big festivals. That’s where Biffy will live going forward. 

[Benj]

7 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

I didn’t know Stereophonics were now playing stadiums. I used them as an example because they’ve been playing arenas for years and years but not really getting touched by the big festivals. That’s where Biffy will live going forward. 

If you remove the Wales aspect, which is fearlessly tribal band wise, stadiums = a single 25,000 capacity stadium up north, a similar size in Dublin and a much smaller one in Cork

 

Biffy could do that I reckon if that’s all they did for an album cycle

[DomDom1984]

Bellahouston at 30+k is hardly to be sniffed at 

[gfa]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

 

I mean, they, like Biffy, did Finsbury and I think Biffy have also headlined Bellahouston Park, but Huddersfield and Cardiff do give them the edge.

 

Admittedly I'm aware there's a Welsh stronghold thing there as they're a Welsh band doing two nights at the Principality Stadium added after the shows went on sale. But to do that and also do a full arena tour, which is going on this week, hints there's strength in their band's brand. And I say this as someone who finds them boring.

 

This is all in the same year.

 

Isle of Wight was also done this year as a solo headliner - excluded from the poster, as well as Neighbourhood Weekender, R2 Live in the Park and a Heritage Live show at Sandringham. Plus they are currently doing a pretty big arena tour.

 

Biffy Clyro have probably sold that many tickets in the past 10 years if they are lucky!!

[Benj]

2 minutes ago, gfa said:

 

This is all in the same year.

 

Isle of Wight was also done this year as a solo headliner - excluded from the poster, as well as Neighbourhood Weekender, R2 Live in the Park and a Heritage Live show at Sandringham. Plus they are currently doing a pretty big arena tour.

 

Biffy Clyro have probably sold that many tickets in the past 10 years if they are lucky!!

A load of 25-30K ish events, inc their stadiums (outside of Cardiff)

Biffy are no doubt headlining them with a semi decent undercard, despite having a less money settled fan base I reckon

Also assume Biffy would top the Isle of Wight, the Gen X/ boomer majority there may make it tougher vs Stereophonics though

[charlierc]

4 minutes ago, gfa said:

 

This is all in the same year.

 

Isle of Wight was also done this year as a solo headliner - excluded from the poster, as well as Neighbourhood Weekender, R2 Live in the Park and a Heritage Live show at Sandringham. Plus they are currently doing a pretty big arena tour.

 

Biffy Clyro have probably sold that many tickets in the past 10 years if they are lucky!!

Tbf their arena tour coming up next month has the sold out signs up for a lot of it, which is not something I can remember saying for previous Biffy Clyro arena runs. I've seen them on the last 3 arena tours in Birmingham and don't think any sold out.

[charlierc]

Just now, Benj said:

A load of 25-30K ish events, inc their stadiums (outside of Cardiff)

Biffy are no doubt headlining them with a semi decent undercard, despite having a less money settled fan base I reckon

Also assume Biffy would top the Isle of Wight, the Gen X/ boomer majority there may make it tougher vs Stereophonics though

I'd forgotten Biffy have twice headlined IoW tbf. Done that in 2014 and 2019. So yeah, I'd assume if they get the offer again, they'd do that.

[DomDom1984]

Biffy have sold out most of the tour this time, no?

[gfa]

1 hour ago, Benj said:

A load of 25-30K ish events, inc their stadiums (outside of Cardiff)

Biffy are no doubt headlining them with a semi decent undercard, despite having a less money settled fan base I reckon

Also assume Biffy would top the Isle of Wight, the Gen X/ boomer majority there may make it tougher vs Stereophonics though

The point is Biffy couldn't do all of those major outdoor shows and a big arena run in the same year like Stereophonics have, with decent success.

 

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

I'd forgotten Biffy have twice headlined IoW tbf. Done that in 2014 and 2019. So yeah, I'd assume if they get the offer again, they'd do that.

Not sure they would honestly! On the smaller side and not crap 😂

[Benj]

1 hour ago, gfa said:

The point is Biffy couldn't do all of those major outdoor shows and a big arena run in the same year like Stereophonics have, with decent success.

Maybe, a Xmas gift, greatest hits arena tour probably isn’t quite where Biffy are in their career arc with their fan base though 

[gfa]

2 hours ago, Benj said:

Maybe, a Xmas gift, greatest hits arena tour probably isn’t quite where Biffy are in their career arc with their fan base though 

The outdoor shows alone are still considerably bigger than what Biffy could feasibly do regardless!

[Benj]

2 minutes ago, gfa said:

The outdoor shows alone are still considerably bigger than what Biffy could feasibly do regardless!

Probably not now. A greatest hits tour after a few years dormant though...

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, gfa said:

The outdoor shows alone are still considerably bigger than what Biffy could feasibly do regardless!

I mean, Biffy clearly have the clout to book a one-off big show. Clearly not 8 UK/Ireland shows with an arena tour chaser though.

[VCK2]

I'm surprised Biffy haven't really kicked on since those two headline slots in '13 and '16. I thought they were destined to be like Muse, a big stadium band who play stadiums and headline everywhere they play.

Foals are another one. They still put out great stuff to this day, but I think in terms of success their career reached its absolute peak with that 2016 headline appearance.

[charlierc]

9 hours ago, VCK2 said:

I'm surprised Biffy haven't really kicked on since those two headline slots in '13 and '16. I thought they were destined to be like Muse, a big stadium band who play stadiums and headline everywhere they play.

Foals are another one. They still put out great stuff to this day, but I think in terms of success their career reached its absolute peak with that 2016 headline appearance.

The curious thing with Foals is that I think their best 2 albums are the ones released in 2019, but it clearly didn't have a My Number or a Mountain at My Gates that crossed over. Maybe in a different world where it was easier for rock acts to get attention in that time. Even then, I think they'll still sell well for live shows when they make their comeback. 

 

Hell, speaking of 2016, I remember Melvin saying that he felt Chvrches were on a trajectory towards festival headline status. I still really like them but I'm aware they seemed to stall around the time of the Love is Dead campaign. 

[TKOCF]

52 minutes ago, charlierc said:

The curious thing with Foals is that I think their best 2 albums are the ones released in 2019, but it clearly didn't have a My Number or a Mountain at My Gates that crossed over. Maybe in a different world where it was easier for rock acts to get attention in that time. Even then, I think they'll still sell well for live shows when they make their comeback. 

 

Hell, speaking of 2016, I remember Melvin saying that he felt Chvrches were on a trajectory towards festival headline status. I still really like them but I'm aware they seemed to stall around the time of the Love is Dead campaign. 

Think the pandemic hit them at the exact wrong time. Everything Not Saved Part 1 should have been the album to put them over the top and made them a household name. 
 

Part 2 had some great tracks on it but Life Is Yours felt like a complete misstep. Now they’re in this weird limbo zone, their crowd in 2023 was pretty middling, although that may have been people leaving to see Sam Fender. 
 

Shame really, they are one of the best live bands this country has produced in the last 15 years or so. 

Edited December 11, 2025 by TKOCF

[gfa]

15 hours ago, Benj said:

Probably not now. A greatest hits tour after a few years dormant though...

Definitely not now!

 

I don't think they really have quite the same casual appeal Stereophonics do - I guess their shows over the past 2024 and 2025 are roughly the same as Stereophonics' mega tour this year, maybe a tad smaller.

 

11 hours ago, charlierc said:

I mean, Biffy clearly have the clout to book a one-off big show. Clearly not 8 UK/Ireland shows with an arena tour chaser though.

So we agree! I am just saying they couldn't do this Stereophonics tour.

[DomDom1984]

Stereophonics have maintained a huge level of success for over 20 years. I don't think Biffy Clyro are even in the same league as them as far as pulling live crowds goes.

[korokband]

Biffy Clyro are in an odd spot really, still sell plenty of tickets, but rock bands are always going to have die hards that will always go out to see them, and they definitely don't feel like they need to start relying on nostalgia just yet, but I'm just not sure what else they have to offer as far as new music goes.

 

In regards to them headlining R+L again in 2027. I think they could, and it would probably prove to be a popular day, but it would be an admission that the "2.0" refresh has already failed in my opinion.

[LazyDavid]

Dua Lipa - Wolf Alice

Fred Again - Aitch

Muse - Bastille

 

[northernangel]

2 hours ago, korokband said:

Biffy Clyro are in an odd spot really, still sell plenty of tickets, but rock bands are always going to have die hards that will always go out to see them, and they definitely don't feel like they need to start relying on nostalgia just yet, but I'm just not sure what else they have to offer as far as new music goes.

 

In regards to them headlining R+L again in 2027. I think they could, and it would probably prove to be a popular day, but it would be an admission that the "2.0" refresh has already failed in my opinion.

This Biffy tour for exmaple sold much better from the off than last arena tour which was really easy for tickets right up until for standing and yet this album dropped off big time.