Fans leave mid-show as Ian Brown turns up to gig with no band and 'butchers' his songs

Former lead singer of Stone Roses, Ian Brown, has sparked outrage after showing up to his gig with no band, with one fan even describing his performance as a 'self-destruction'.

Have a look for yourself below:

The 59-year-old musician first branched out into his solo career in 1998. However, he's since faced backlash after turning up to his gig in Leeds on Sunday (25 September) to perform 'karaoke'.

Yesterday's gig marked the first of his UK headline tour and the first he's done in a decade.

However, Brown didn't kick things off well, with many ticket buyers having since taken to social media to complain about his performance.

"Gutted to see @ianbrown turn up to his £40 a ticket, sold out gig at leeds tonight WITH NO BAND. I’m a life long fan but it was bad.

"#ianbrown does karaoke and butchers his own tunes.

"Most were too p****d to care but I had to get out after this one. Longsight M13 was a highlight," one gig goer wrote on Twitter.

Others unfortunately had similar reviews of the performance, with another saying: "Ian Brown charging £50 a ticket to only sing his solo tunes, over a backing track, with no band is quite something."

However, another argued: "Bands play with backing tracks on the daily - people go and pay £80 for a pre recorded DJ set, people go and see artists like steps and pay £80 a ticket to see cheese pop with a backing track, yet Ian Brown does it and there is this huge upheaval like he’s the first to do it."

A final resolved: "Ian Brown - gone from being the iconic, legendary frontman of the most talented band of musicians in a generation into a Jimmy Bullard lookalike murdering karaoke versions of his own stuff, singing along to backing tracks like a cheap WMC turn genuinely really sad to see!"

It's not the first time Brown has faced criticism online. In 2021, he stepped down as the headliner of Neighbourhood Weekender Festival because he didn't believe in mandatory coronavirus vaccinations.

He posted a statement on social media: "My Saturday night headline show at NHBD Weekender Festival will now not happen! I refuse to accept vaccination proof as condition of entry. Refunds are available!"

However, he was widely mocked online for his stance - a stance of which resulted in him not performing throughout the pandemic.

Brown's tour continues from tonight, Monday, 26 September, at Glasgow's O2 Academy.

Its tenth and final location is the 02 Academy Brixton in London on Friday, 7 October.

Featured Image Credit: @i_r_mole/ Twitter/@jasonmansell73/Twitter

Topics: Music, Social Media, Twitter, Money

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.