The Pretty Reckless @ Camden Underworld, London – 1st June 2026

Tonight’s show is a fans-only show, and even in the queue outside the venue, the excitement is palpable. The chance to see a band whose next London show will be at Brixton Academy in the 500-capacity Camden Underworld doesn’t come around very often. Naturally, the gig sold out in a heartbeat, so I count myself very lucky to be here.

This is essentially a warm-up for The Pretty Reckless’ appearances at various summer festivals, the most noteworthy of which for this audience is obviously Download. There is also the small matter of their Dear God album, which is released towards the end of this month.

The band are due on at 8pm, and there is no support, so it will be a case of being immediately hurled into The Pretty Reckless’ maelstrom, so to speak. They kick off with Death By Rock and Roll, the title track of their last album, and an absolute riff monster. They are tight and powerful, clearly starting as they mean to go on.

Guitarist Ben Phillips is in incendiary form, the intro to Since You’re Gone being particularly outstanding. There’s an ace bluesy solo in Follow Me Down as well. Jimmy Page would be pleased if he peeled off that one. The band are accompanied by a touring rhythm guitarist who looks after the meat-and-potatoes stuff while Ben Phillips weaves his magic.

Taylor Momsen is an incredibly commanding frontwoman. It’s not just a question of having the pipes, which she unquestionably has; she also has an effortless rapport with the audience and the rock star moves to match. Technical difficulties at the beginning of Just Tonight remind her how much she misses club shows!

Taylor Momsen is more than a singer, though. She also plays guitar, most noticeably on Love Me, Take Me Down and My Medicine.

Did I mention that The Pretty Reckless are about to release a new album? Some of the songs from it are played live for the first time tonight, Love Me being one of them. Also having their live cherry popped are Life Evermore Pt. 2, which has a glorious descending chord sequence, and When I Wake Up, which starts with a quotation from Peter and the Wolf.

The Pretty Reckless entertain us with a couple of stories tonight, one of which pertains to Witches Burn. Taylor Momsen was bitten by a bat while singing this song during an AC/DC support tour. The band are out on tour again with AC/DC later in the year, so let’s hope Taylor Momsen has some bat repellent!

She gets sections of the crowd to applaud with her, as she would do in a much larger venue. It’s certainly not something that I’ve seen happen in the Underworld before. Then again, I’ve never seen a photo pit here before either.

I must confess I assumed that the bulk of tonight’s set would be taken from the new album, but not a bit of it. There are only four songs from the new album played tonight. The rest of the set is made up of a tour through the band’s back catalogue, and it’s utterly electrifying.

A prime example is Make Me Wanna Die, which was played at their last small show, also in London, seventeen years ago. The band have clearly enjoyed tonight — they certainly looked as if they were enjoying themselves — and Taylor Momsen tells us to look out on the internet for more small shows. Happy days!

All good things must come to an end, though, and after Heaven Knows, featuring a guitar solo from Ben Phillips that is unusually both lengthy and awesome, and Take Me Down, the band leave the stage.

It’s only for about five minutes, though, and they return for My Medicine, featuring some awesome slide from Ben Phillips. Then there’s something quite special: they play an unreleased song. It’s the first time that it has been heard by the public. Taylor Momsen and bassist Mark Damon ask everyone to put their phones down and not to record it. From what I can see, the whole crowd complies.

The song is called About You. It’s fast, rocky and something of a banger.

There’s a lot to be said for big bands returning to small venues. It reminds them of where they come from. It enables the crowd to see their heroes close up, and it enables a degree of communion between band and fans that isn’t really possible in venues holding 5,000 people, and certainly isn’t possible in arenas.

Tonight has been one of those gigs that people will talk about for years to come, and enough people to fill Wembley Arena will claim to have been there. It’s been a cracking night. What more can I say?

Announced earlier this year, The Pretty Reckless will bring their electrifying stage performance to fans across the world with their all-new headlining Dear God Tour. Following the band’s appearance at Download Festival in June, the tour will kick off in North America before wrapping in Europe and the UK with stops in Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Milan, Prague, London, Manchester and many more.

The tour follows their incredible two-year trek across the globe alongside AC/DC on the PWR UP Tour. Tickets are available for purchase HERE.

EU/UK dates:

Mon, Nov 9th – La Riviera, Madrid, ES
Tue, Nov 10th – Razzmatazz, Barcelona, ES
Sat, Nov 14th – Fabrique, Milan, IT
Mon, Nov 16th – Forum Karlín, Prague, CZ
Wed, Nov 18th – Huxleys Neue Welt, Berlin, DE
Sat, Nov 21st – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, DE
Mon, Nov 23rd – AFAS Live, Amsterdam, NL
Tue, Nov 24th – Zénith, Paris, FR
Thu, Nov 26th – The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK
Fri, Nov 27th – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
Sun, Nov 29th – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
Tue, Dec 1st – O2 Academy Brixton, London, UK
Thu, Dec 3rd – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK

Words: Mark Kelly Photos: Cris Watkins