Stormzy draws a massive, manic crowd at Reading 2016

Stepping in at the last minute to fill Travis Scott’s cancellation, Stormzy takes to Reading 2016 already a king. Declaring his set last year “one of the best fuckin’ shows of my life”, his return ups the ante at every opportunity.

This tent has surely seen nothing like it. It’s a crowd that must be pushing ten thousand, spilling out of the stage’s confines as far as the eye can see. Mosh pits are everywhere, and they’re bigger than any the rest of the weekend has offered up. It’s pure pandemonium long before one particularly excited punter clambers up the pillar holding the tent up – by the time he leaps back down, it’s pure carnage.

Opener ‘Scary’’s backdrop might promise that the album is “coming soon”, but it’s new song ‘Cold’ that’s the ultimate teaser. Demanding the crowd up their energy, their raucous reaction is filmed for its incoming video, apparently due within the week. ‘Shut Up’’s is subsequently drowned out by its singalong, before a closing explosion of ‘Know Me From’ brings pure chaos. “This is Reading Festival – they get some of the biggest bands in the world,” Stormzy states, reeling off festival mainstays Red Hot Chili Peppers and, er, Kaiser Chiefs as if to prove his point. “I want to see the biggest mosh pit that Reading Festival has ever seen,” he then demands. His wishes are duly granted, the entire tent opened up into a gaping chasm. He’s lost for words by the time it implodes.

There’s not an artist on the planet drawing people in like Stormzy. He’s proven his worth without even needing an album – by the time it arrives he’ll be bonafide royalty.