At just the age of 20, Tom Abisgold has already made a name for himself as a showman. As he arrives on stage at the O2 Academy Islington on Wednesday night, saluting the crowd with a beer in hand, it’s pretty clear to see why.
The songwriter is very much a star on the rise with a flurry of singles released so far in 2024 turning heads as his best work to date. Over the course of an hour-long headline set, the singer showcases those and much more in a performance worthy of an artist much his senior.
Abisgold kicks off the night with last year’s debut single ‘ambler gambler’, whose opening chords are met with a wall of sound by his eager fans. By the time ‘Growing Pains’ comes early in the set, the star shifts the atmosphere up another gear, demanding arms in the air with a smirk.
Those already part of the Abisgold journey are clearly fully committed to the cause. Throughout the night the singer charmingly banters with those in the front row – “Shannon, you’re in trouble,” he jokes at one stage as one fan leaks his setlist.
“It’s nuts,” Tom admits to CelebMix backstage when asked about the following he’s already picked up. The night before in Manchester had seen gifts of a custom Lego figurine, a star named in his honour and even a custom guitar flown over to the UK by a fan from China.
“I always say to people that coming along to gigs is it, just come and have a good time but yesterday was the most insane,” he adds.
Despite only releasing music on his solo project for less than a year, some of those fans have been following the star since his childhood. Abisgold debuted on the West End at just 13 years old and was then part of Chapter 13, a band made famous after receiving a golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019.
“I played this venue with Chapter 13 but that was five years ago, which feels like a lifetime,” Tom reflects. “I was half my size!
“All the rooms felt bigger back then. I just love playing shows. Whether it’s five people, five thousand or ten thousand. I try not to put too much pressure on the shows, just get up and have fun.”
The O2 Academy Islington is very much a stepping-stone venue for artists on the rise – an old Stormzy flyer hangs on the wall behind Tom – but few will have taken to its stage with the charisma that Abisgold has on offer. It’s the kind of set that could fill any stage.
“It’s a time thing,” Tom explains when asked where that confidence comes from. “I was not that kid who was naturally gifted like that.
“I got a guitar when I was six years old and played it for six hours every day, then I learnt how to sing. I’ve got videos of the first gig I did and the first tour and it was really bad!
“I’m a big believer in failing fast. That was always my approach, if I’m bad at it sooner then I can get better at it. I’m really lucky to have been able to do this for so long.”
During the set, there’s time for a cleverly-picked cover of Outkast hit ‘Hey Ya’, its rattling singalong chorus well at home alongside Abisgold’s discography, as well as a rework of Black Eyes Peas flick ‘Let’s Get It Started’.
While the night’s best moments come with the tempo up, the songwriter is perhaps at his most impressive on latest single ‘Worst Of You’. A candid reflection on child abuse, its delivery has even the most boisterous of fans fall silent.
“Every time I play it, it’s a little bit different,” Tom admits before his set. “There are times I sing it and feel very disconnected as a bit of a defence mechanism but there are some times when I’m singing it and lose myself in it. It depends on the night. Every time you feel something more than the other songs.”
There’s plenty of unreleased material throughout the evening, ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ particularly memorable with its relentless production. Meanwhile, ‘Best Boy’ is an endearing ode to his mum.
The O2 Academy is at its most raucous for two of this year’s releases. The first, ‘Died@18’, has become somewhat of a fan favourite after Abisgold recruited followers to record backing vocals and appear in the music video.
“I did it live on the James Marriott tour and that was the one people came up to me and kept saying they loved,” Tom reveals.
“I wasn’t really writing it thinking anyone else could really relate to it as it’s so specific but people did and I thought it could become a bigger thing. Now when we sing it it’s a bit of a cult anthem!”
The word “soggy” has been chanted throughout the night, so it’s no surprise to see the reaction that ‘Soggy Cigarette’ gets as it closes off the set. “That one is so much fun,” Tom chuckles.
“That’s the first song I ever wrote where I could already see how people would react to it when I was recording it. It was written for a crowd. I wrote it with two other guys and we had a lot of fun with it.”
The singer’s best release to date, it’s no surprise he knew its earworm chorus was destined to become a live show favourite. Clearly, there’s more of that to come too.
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