What were you doing when you were 19? Chances are, 99% of people won’t have achieved the things that Alex Spencer has already done. From humble beginnings busking on Market Street in Manchester at the age of 12, to playing major festivals like Neighbourhood Weekender and TRNSMT, and even performing at the Etihad Stadium, the Barcelona-born Mancunian (and no, he’s not a relative of Pep Guardiola!) has experienced things that most musicians could only ever dream of. These dreams were only amplified over the past week, with the young man spending his birthday guesting with the Young Voices Choir at the Co-Op Live in Manchester. Tonight, the third stop of his sold-out UK headline tour, clearly showed why Alex has achieved so much in so little time, and why this is only the beginning of what’s to come.
The first support of the night, Leah Wilcox, had everyone in the room captivated with her beautiful combo of the acoustic guitar and her soulful voice. Throughout songs like ‘Blue’, she is able to show her vocal prowess, whether it’s the raspiness in her high notes or her gorgeously delivered falsettos, everything she did paid off tremendously. The second support of the night, indie band The Cases, proved to be a wonderful pick as the main billing. They carried a fantastic energy in a live setting that was received in an overwhelmingly positive manner by the crowd. Even those who didn’t know the words to their tunes were moving and bopping their heads to the rhythm of their catchy melodies and brilliant instrumentation.
Kicking right off with ‘Love and Let Go’, Alex Spencer knew how to hook a crowd from minute one. His bubbly and witty charisma shone across a room that was packed to the brim just to see him, and the tunes to back it up weren’t half bad either. Beginning the set with ‘One Step Forward’ and the title track from his debut EP ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ helped carry the momentum forward and set the scene for what was to be an unbelievable hour of live music. Part of this was down to how phenomenal the crowd were – Alex mentioned on stage that support band The Cases thought the Birmingham crowd was the best yet on their tour, which gave tonight’s audience the goal of being the undisputed champion. Even with a hometown show still to come on the tour, it’ll take a lot to beat that Birmingham crowd.
While Alex’s set predominantly consisted of the tunes that everyone knows, there were a few unreleased tracks as part of the setlist, which showcases how much promise and potential is behind this young man. ‘All Of This Will Be Gone’ and ‘Farewell To Forever’ pack a punch instrumentally, but most of all, they show Alex’s willingness to develop his songwriting to correspond with his ever-growing maturity. This aligned perfectly with his most recent single released in November, ‘Masks’, all about the stigma revolving around mental health. This song especially was performed with such raw emotion, made even better by keyboardist Harrison’s stunning playing.
As the end of the set approached, there was no doubt room for even more of his hits. Even as Alex stated on stage that he felt he was losing his voice, his determination to not only push through, but to continue to excel, was a testament to one of the most important qualities in any musician. To have talent is one thing (which he has in abundance), but it’s the work ethic and grit that will take him very far in his career. That’s without mentioning him having these skills at his age, which in itself deserves all the praise in the world. Still, whether it’s the fan-favourite ‘Nightmares’, best known for its appearance on the EA Sports FC25 soundtrack, or the song that started it all for him less than 3 years ago, ‘A Night To Waste’. To top it all off, Alex jumped into the crowd for one last epic mosh pit for ‘One Way Ticket’, capping off a whirlwind of 60 minutes that I won’t forget in a hurry. With the trajectory that Alex is on, it won’t be long until he gets a one way ticket to main room academies and arenas, because the sky is the absolute limit.
