Ocean Colour Scene live review: Britpop heroes mark the re-opening of iconic music venue

Watford Colosseum 29th August 2025

When the pandemic hit in 2020, The Watford Colosseum was forced to close its doors. With its future in doubt, the community and entertainment industry lost a beloved venue. After five years in the wilderness it’s back.Thanks to a £16 million grant and AEG (the management team behind the O2) on board the world-renowned venue was finally able to spring back to life. 

There have been some changes in the revamp: the interior is styled on an Art Deco theme, which adds a timeless feel to the venue. There’s also improved accessibility, a new stage and bar refurbishment to make sure that The Watford Colosseum can put its mark on the industry once more.

There was a real buzz in the air as local music fans walked back into the building. The staff were friendly and helpful, and even though there were a few (minor) teething issues with the bar (to be expected), there was a wide selection of beers and drinks on offer. It’s just a shame that some of the draft beers were not available at all the bars at the venue. Hopefully, these things will be ironed out over the next few weeks. 

Now to the music! Ahead of the main event was legendary American singer, P.P. Arnold. With a career that goes back to the 60s, P.P. was in the middle of the rock n roll revolution. She began her career in 1965 as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Across her career, she’s also sung backing vocals with the likes of Peter Gabriel and her friends Ocean Colour Scene, whom she met in Birmingham in the early 90s before appearing on several of their tracks.

At 78, her energetic set and heartfelt vocals were a reminder of why she is so regarded.  She sang some of her hits ‘First Cut is the Deepest’ and ‘Angel of the Morning’ alongside other soulful tracks like ‘(If You Think You’re (Groovy)’ and ‘Medicated Goo’. It was a real privilege to see such a venerable performer on stage for the opening night. Also a treat to see local guitarist Henry Parker as part of her band.

Britpop heroes, Ocean Colour Scene, may have aged, (but so have their fans), and their timeless tunes really enthralled the audience. ‘The Circle’ from their album ‘Mosley Shoals’ kicked the night off and captured the 60s Mod feeling, while ’Fleeting Minds’ and ‘Get Away’ tap into the 60s psychedelia. If you closed your eyes, you’d be transported back to the halcyon days of 1996, when their music was riding high on the airwaves. You literally couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the album by osmosis. Their music was still very much in the minds of the crowd tonight, who were already singing along and didn’t need any encouragement from frontman Simon Fowler. 

The setlist comprised mostly of songs from that famed and certainly untroubled second album. Sadly, 2001’s excellent ‘Mechanical Wonder’ was missing, but there were some other stellar offerings on the setlist such as ‘Profit in Peace’ and ‘So Low’ from 1999’s ‘One from the Modern’.

Hugely influenced by Traffic, The Small Faces, The Jam, and Led Zeppelin, OCS were all about soul, blues, and great songwriting. They honoured the talents of the bands that had come before, while blazing a trail for a revived sound that fitted the era’s decadence and bravado. Their biggest hit ‘The Riverboat Song’ encapsulates this, and hearing it live was certainly a high point for the Watford crowd.

The Colosseum has always been renowned for its acoustics, and after five years in hibernation, nothing has changed: the gritty guitar growls of Steve Cradock reverberate around the walls, and the percussion of Oscar Harrison and Dan Sealey sounds crisp, yet punchy.

When the band plays torch anthems like ‘Get Blown Away’, the superb sound quality clear, even when the audience sing along and never becomes a mushy mess.

PP Arnold joined her friends on stage for a superb rendition of ‘Travellers Tune’. Another uptempo track ‘100 Mile High City’ followed before perennial favourite, ‘The Day We Caught the Train’, rounded off the official re-opening night.

With grass roots and music venues closing on a worrying scale across the country, it’s so great to see this music venue back in use once more.

Review Cathy Clark

Photos Gerry Driver