Artist: Chameleons / The Veldt

Venue: The 1865

Town: Southampton

Date: 13.11.25

Chameleons

There are some nights that remind you why guitar music still matters—why it still grips the bones, still shakes the dust off the darker corners of your head. The opening night of The Chameleons’ UK tour at Southampton’s 1865 was exactly that: a communion, a riot, a hug, a reckoning. A gig where the walls seemed to breathe with 40 years of bruised optimism, and where every person in the room—from the lifers to the teenagers on the barrier—felt plugged into the same frequency.

Chameleons

Launching their tour with "Where Are You" and "Bellows", the band eased the crowd into a dream-state, pulling the room into their trademark swirl of shadow and light. By "Pleasure", "Lady Strange", "Perfumed", and "Intrigue", the night had already stretched out into something bigger than a tour opener—it felt like a statement of intent. The Chameleons still refuse to make three-minute throwaway songs. Their tracks are journeys—six or seven minutes, evolving and unapologetic—which may explain why they never hit the commercial heights they deserved, but also why their fans are fiercely loyal.

Chameleons

Biscuits, philosophy, and the unexpected comedy of cult bands

In true opening-night chaos, a fan launched a packet of "Walkers fucking shortcake" onto the stage for the keyboard player. Burgess and co. cracked up, the crowd cracked up—it was the kind of surreal gig-magic you couldn’t script.

Burgess, break-open honesty, and “the song that saved my life”

Mid-set—after "Britannia", "Inwardly", and an expansive "Paradiso"—Mark Burgess shifted the tone. He spoke about fans who tell him a Chameleons song saved them from dark moments. “I never used to understand it,” he said. “But I do now. I wrote End of the World, and it saved my life.”

What followed was raw, grounded, and pure Burgess:

“I’m lucky I get to do what I love and get paid for it. If today is the last day of your life, you don’t want to spend it doing something you don’t enjoy. Get as much out of your day—and your life—as you can. You don’t know whether today’s going to be your last.”

The roar that came back wasn’t polite applause—it was recognition.

Crowd requests flew in from every corner. Burgess laughed:

“We can’t do them all!”

Chameleons

Anarchy, autonomy, and the standout of the night

Then came the philosophy lesson. Burgess talked about being 16 and deciding he was an anarchist—“still am,” he said. “If you don’t know what an anarchist is, Google it.” Then he distilled it beautifully:

“Follow no one. Lead yourself. Then you won’t fall victim to grifters, manipulators, thieves, sex offenders—they can’t touch you.”

With that, they launched into the night’s standout performance:

“Saviours Are a Dangerous Thing.”

A warning. A mantra. A song that hit like a fist wrapped in velvet.

The kids on the barrier

For all the history in the room, it was the cluster of 18-year-olds crushed against the barrier that drew the eye. Every lyric, every chant—they knew it all. When I caught up with them, their favourite track was "Paradiso". Proof that The Chameleons aren’t nostalgia—they’re legacy in motion.

Chameleons

Chameleons

A powerful start to a tour from a band who should be huge

The closing run—"Bowie", "Soul", "Swamp", and "End of the World"—felt like a victory lap, not just for the band but for everyone in the room who’d ever been held together by one of their songs.

Chameleons

Opening night or not, this show felt like a band hitting their stride again. No gimmicks, no compromise—just the sound of a group who’ve outlived trends and outshone expectations.

A fantastic night from a band who deserve to be far bigger than they are. And if the rest of the tour carries even a fraction of what Southampton got… it’s going to be something special.

Chameleons

Chameleons

SUPPORT: THE VELDT

Opening the night were The Veldt, the pioneering alternative soul and shoegaze outfit formed in 1986 by identical twins Daniel and Danny Chavis. Named after a Ray Bradbury story, the band carved out their own lane decades ago—melding soul vocals with swirling shoegaze textures long before the genre’s revivalists caught on. After signing with Capitol Records in 1989, they toured the U.S. with The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Cocteau Twins, with Robin Guthrie producing their early work. Their 1994 album Afrodisiac remains a cult classic of the shoegaze canon.

The Veldt

Tonight, though, wasn’t one of their best nights. Technical problems dogged the set, and the band had only flown into the UK from the States earlier that same day—a brutal turnaround that showed. Even so, the Southampton crowd wanted them to win. There was respect in the room, goodwill in the cheers, and an understanding that sometimes an opening night is just that: the warm-up.

The Veldt

The Veldt

Given their legacy, talent, and the flashes of brilliance that still broke through, there’s no doubt that in the remaining dates of this tour, The Veldt will deliver the performances they’re known for. Southampton simply caught them on the hardest possible day.

Chameleons - website

The Veldt - website

Review and Photographs by Kevin O'sullivan for Return To Sound