JADE, Roundhouse, London review • DIY Magazine

This Autumn’s headline run around the UK and Ireland may be Jade Thirlwall’s first as a solo artist, but even so, there’s a distinct sense that tonight’s show at Camden’s Roundhouse - the second of two sold-out turns - is a significant underplay. With Little Mix, she graced arena stages and TV screens alike, and made history in 2021 when the trio scooped the BRIT Award for Best British Group. To see JADE here, then - a venue with a comparatively demure capacity of 3000-odd - feels like winning the pop lottery, a rare opportunity to see a gig with all the production quality, attention to detail, and jaw-drop moments of one seven times the size in a room still small enough to see the joy writ large on her face. (Not least when she acknowledges the heartwarming presence of “my girls” - bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards - in the audience). And, as she opens the show with a Fosse-inspired curtain reveal before ‘FUFN (Fuck You For Now)’, one thing is immediately clear: this is showbiz, baby.

What follows is a set that’s just as musically diverse and full of surprises as her debut album itself, the live embodiment of what JADE describes as “all the sounds I listened to growing up”. First, we’re transported to some decadeless, high camp dancefloor, where flavours of classic Motown (‘Before You Break My Heart’), pulsing disco (‘Fantasy’), and ‘80s synthpop (‘Unconditional’) are underscored with extravagant sequined cloaks, swathes of metallic fabric, and a glitterball worthy of Blackpool promenade. She may only be flanked by two dancers and two band members - who swap instruments so seamlessly, there’s barely need for more - but here, the overall effect is far greater than the sum of its parts; you can only imagine what she’d be capable of on a larger stage.

Free from jadedness or any whiff of self-importance, it’s as if she’s hosting the ultimate house party: one where strangers dance cheek to cheek, the playlist is eclectic but accessible, and absolutely everyone is invited (“I don’t discriminate - I like straight people too,” she quips, after dedicating ‘Fantasy’ to her devoted LGBTQ+ fanbase). Wheeling in - quite literally - the heady clubland of her next act are album double headers ‘Self Saboteur’ and ‘Lip Service’, for which she traverses the stage on an oversized ring-light prop with all the effortless cool of mid-noughties Madonna. Because, lest we forget, JADE is a pop performance pro in the truest sense: every beat of choreo is impeccably coordinated (even ‘Glitch’’s presumably challenging chair section), and no moment is left unconsidered (when she momentarily disappears for a quick costume change, a mad mash-up of Cascada, Bryan Adams, and Guru Josh Project is more than enough to keep us occupied).

This, perhaps, is her most impressive feat; whatever version of herself she chooses to embody, be it sexually liberated provocateur (‘Midnight Cowboy’), campy girl boss (Confidence Man collab ‘gossip’), or sincere South Shields girl-made-good (balcony ballad ‘Silent Disco’), she does so unequivocally. And in doing so, she manages to translate the central ethos of ‘THAT’S SHOWBIZ, BABY!’ - that she is simultaneously a product, a victim, and a proud flagbearer of the pop industry - to the live space with stunning conviction. It makes perfect sense, then, that she chooses to introduce tonight’s grand finale, ‘Angel Of My Dreams’, with a bridal sequence complete with matrimonial vows - an astute reminder that, for better or worse, she’s married into its fucked-up family for life. JADE isn’t ashamed of where she’s come from, not by any means. But tonight’s performance only proves that she’s far more than that besides.

Tags: JADE, Reviews, Live Reviews