Public Service Broadcasting
Brighton Dome

TONIGHT at the Brighton Dome we strap ourselves into the cockpit of Electra — Amelia Earhart’s plane — as Public Service Broadcasting take us on a journey celebrating her life and her Last Flight (the title of their new concept album).

Earhart is revealed through the new songs as a still highly-relevant icon of female empowerment. Her ethos is perhaps best embodied by PSB’s recent single The Fun Of It – the title a direct quote from the great aviator in answer to the question of why she undertook such challenges. 

It’s a song that goes down well with the Brighton crowd, vocals expertly provided, as they are for much of the night by EERA. It’s also indicative of the journey of growth this band is still on, these days embracing vocals just as much as their trademark spoken-word samples.

PSB’s evolution hasn’t just been musical, it’s also been political. Their breakthrough first single Spitfire may have been focused on one of the instruments of British success in World War Two, but since then the band has tackled a huge range of historical subjects, from the space race to the rise and decline of Welsh coal mining. 

Tonight the first song back after the encore is They Gave Me A Lamp which, through evocative samples, focuses on the women’s support groups that grew up during the Welsh miners’ strike of the early 1980s.

Looking further from home PSB’s credentials as Europhiles were solidified by their last album Bright Magic, which has been described as a “love letter to Berlin” complete with lyrics in German. Tonight Blue Heaven from that record is a clear fan-favourite.

But it’s the new album that rightly takes centre stage tonight. Seven new songs are showcased including the raucous heavy-rock Monsoons, which is a great live moment.

PSB are becoming master storytellers. And part of the being a great storyteller is maintaining the element of the unexpected. No one ever quite knows what the next album theme will be — or what the next song they play live will be, for that matter. The band rehearsed all 50 songs in their back catalogue for this tour and change the set every night.

Adding real depth to the PSB’s storytelling is the incredible stage sets and projections provided by the enigmatic Mr B. The backdrop tonight is a faithful recreation of Electra’s cockpit complete with dials and readouts that become screens for vintage reels and live on-stage footage. It’s difficult to think of another band that even attempts visuals on this scale in medium-sized venues like this.

By the time PSB bring the audience into land with their favourite set closers Gagarin (complete with dancing cosmonauts) and Everest, it’s all gone just a bit too quickly. Let’s hope the south London raconteurs have plenty more flights to come. The European tour continues.

PSB play more UK dates March 18 - 25 2025. For more information see: publicservicebroadcasting.net