Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - O2 Academy 11/12/2025

Twenty years on, Howl still howls - and in Glasgow, it roared.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club returned to Glasgow with a show that felt less like a typical UK tour stop and more like a shared act of remembrance. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Howl, the San Francisco act transformed the O2 Academy into a space of riotous rock n roll.


BRMC - photo by Stewart Fullerton

Opening in near darkness, it was clear this would be a performance built on mood just as much as volume. There was a full run-through of The Howl, tracks like "Devil's Waiting" "Restless Sinner,", "Promise" and "Sympathetic Noose" unfolded, allowing their gospel-tinged melancholy and acoustic textures to breathe. Voices rose when "Ain't No Easy Way" was played from the 2 decade old album. Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been's harmonies were warm and weathered, carrying the sense of a band at peace with its own history.


BRMC - photo by Stewart Fullerton

The feedback and slow-burn menace of "Red Eyes and Tears" signalled a change in gear, launching a run of fan favourites that reminded everyone just how punishing this band can be when they choose to. "Beat The Devil's Tattoo" landed with brute force, while "Berlin" and "Conscience Killer" added grit and swagger.

"Glasgow, I love you fuckers" said Peter Hayes as the band entered the closing stretch of the setlist and it was pure bliss, "Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n' Roll" got the place jumping and "Spread Your Love" reverberated throughout the whole venue, turning the O2 Academy into a bouncing mass of bodies, it sealed the night in a blur of distortion and adrenaline.


BRMC - photo by Stewart Fullerton

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club delivered a performance that honoured their past without being trapped in it. In a city that thrives on raw, emotional live music, it felt like a perfect fit - intimate when it needed to be, ferocious when it counted.

Twenty years on, Howl still howls - and in Glasgow, it roared.

A full photo gallery can be found here

Review and photography by Stewart Fullerton.

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