Shot! Daryl Hall live in Brighton
A rare UK appearance from one-half of the world’s biggest-selling male duo proved disappointing with a capital D in a lethargic show that, despite being packed with hits, never really reached the expected heights
As Brighton— somewhat bafflingly— has no arena-size music venue, it’s all too often shunned by major artists whose tours these days rarely include anywhere along the South Coast in favour of cities with large capacity arenas. It was refreshing then that an artist of Daryl Hall’s calibre included a stop in Brighton as part of his short UK tour.
Now I’ve been a fan of Daryl’s for years, considering him to have one of the most distinctive voices out there. But save for a few episodes of his groundbreaking online show Live from Daryl’s House, he’s been quiet for a while now.
One of the reasons for this could have to do with his long-running feud with John Oates which has seemingly escalated into a major legal battle regarding the sale of the duo’s shared back catalogue. Oates wants to cash in, but Daryl does not. The two are now only ‘talking through lawyers’ and no longer touring together. The stakes are high considering Hall & Oates remain the best-selling male musical duo of all time with worldwide album sales of 18 million and no less than 29 hit singles!
I was fortunate to see them at the height of their pomp when they toured the UK way back in 1982. That gig was one of three shows they played at the Hammersmith Odeon in support of their H2O album which went onto become their second-biggest selling album with sales of over 2.6 million.
So it’s been a while and in that time Daryl’s star-power has waned and his output has declined. His most recent solo album D didn’t trouble the charts and he’s now reached the ripe old age of 78. Indeed it’s hard to believe that in 2026 Daryl Hall will become an octogenarian! Let that sink in.
With that being said, as a long-standing fan I was looking forward to ‘reliving’ those classic Hall & Oates tunes one last time and seeing Daryl in person. That feeling however was tainted in the days before when I read a couple of the reviews of his Glasgow and London shows. They were not good.
The Guardian spoke of his “strained vocals” that “where once his singing was a wonder of clarity, stamina and control, he now struggles.” Most damming, they declared “it feels at times that he’s the weak link in his own great music.”
The Telegraph’s review of his Royal Albert Hall show (his first ever at London’s most prestigious venue) carried the headline “Proof you can be too old to rock.”
Naturally, comments like that made me feel a tad trepidatious about what would unfold just a few nights later at the Brighton Centre, where good sound is never a given.
That said, I don’t think the audio quality was too bad, helped in no small part by the excellent musical chops of the players that Daryl always surrounds himself with — almost all of whom feature on Live from Daryl’s House.
And despite being able to draw from a remarkable back catalogue, where hit followed hit, the show itself – which was not sold out – largely underwhelmed. Indeed, I can understand the Guardian reviewer’s ‘weak link’ observation as Hall appeared a shadow of his younger self.
Although he began playing guitar and Roland organ, for much of the evening he was sat at a grand piano which — despite the efforts of his band — sucked the life out of the show. This passiveness felt so different from the engaging performances I got used to seeing on LFDH.
Speaking of which, the backdrop aimed to recreate the distinctive look of ‘Daryl’s House’ but whether it was too dark or just poorly lit, it didn’t really work. Aside from a neon Daryl’s House logo, the only other production elements were a few illuminated candles and some D-shaped lights. And, as there was no video screens or interesting lighting, visually it was pretty much the same from beginning to end.
With such an extensive back catalogue, the setlist was unsurprisingly stuffed with Hall & Oates’ crowd pleasers, yet despite the enduring quality of the songs and the impressive players onstage, much of the evening felt strangely flat and the audience remained resolutely in their seats. As, for most of the set, did Daryl himself.
Sonicly things went up on a notch on upbeat tracks like Maneater which also benefited from Charles DeChant’s sax solo. Side note: 80-year-old DeChant was the sole remaining member of the Hall & Oates band I saw in 1982. Other highlights from the archive were Private Eyes and Rich Girl.
With a train to catch, I had to leave before the show finished, so I missed the four song encore which saw Glenn Tilbrook (the Squeeze frontman — and LFDH guest — who was the night’s support act) join Daryl on vocals.
Even so, I left thinking that both national newspaper’s reviewers had summed things up pretty well. This wasn’t quite the memorable evening I was hoping for. As Gustave Flaubert said in his novel Madame Bovary: ‘Il ne faut pas toucher aux idoles: la dorure en reste aux mains’ which loosely translates to ‘never touch your idols, a little gold always rubs off.’ Sadly, at least on this showing, the once great Daryl Hall has lost his lustre.
Setlist: The Whole World’s Better | Maneater | Dreamtime | Kiss On My List | Private Eyes | Rich Girl | Walling In Between Raindrops | I’m In A Philly Mood | Too Much Information | Everytime You Go Away | Sara Smile | I Can’t Go For That || One On One | Pulling Mussels From The Shell | Bad Luck | You Make My Dreams
Behind the shot: All these images were taken with my trusty Olympus OM-D E-M1 fitted with the Zuiko 75mm lens. Unfortunately, this proved a frustrating evening as I was only able to shoot from either the lighting desk or at the back of the venue as it was a seated audience. It didn’t help that Daryl wore a fedora and dark glasses throughout, meaning it was almost impossible to get a decent shot of him where his face wasn’t in shadow. Shot in Brighton on 25 May 2025
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.
