– Part 1 –
by Damianista | Fan Fun With Damian Lewis | June 17, 2026
I did it!
Seven shows in seven days.
Leeds. Liverpool. Liverpool again. Marlborough. London. Brighton. Kingston.
And after seven shows in seven days, countless photos and videos, several train journeys, hotel rooms, and a huge quantity of Coke Zero (which my travel companions and I declared the official drink of the ‘Sweet Chaos’ Album Launch tour), I sat down to write about it all.
Because there is far too much to fit into a single article, my review is going to come in two parts: This first article is about the shows themselves: the music, the stories, the venues, the fans, and the people who made this week so special. The second will be more of a road diary, covering each city and all the little adventures that happened along the way…
So let’s go!
It’s been a pretty rubbish year in many ways, and when Damian announced these launch shows, Lewisto encouraged me to do something I don’t do often enough: simply enjoy myself.
So I did.
What followed was one of the most enjoyable weeks I have had in a very long time.
I traveled with my partners-in-crime Monique, Tsveta, and Mel. I caught up with old friends – Helen, Lauren, Geri, Katy, Natalie, Paul, and David. I made new friends – Deb, Charles, Gemma, Niall, Evie, Tracy and Taz, Christina, Mark, Sam, Matt, Karen, Daniel, Toni, and many others.
And one of the loveliest surprises of the week was how many people knew Fan Fun. Several fans told me they discovered the launch shows through Fan Fun. Others thanked me for what we’ve been doing for Damian’s fans for the last eleven years. I honestly can’t tell you how much those conversations meant. Thank you.
Now on to the shows… The album launch shows didn’t feel like promotional appearances. They felt like celebrations. Most people already had the album in their hands. They were there to celebrate it with Damian. And every night Damian thanked the audience for coming out to celebrate Sweet Chaos with him. His gratitude was genuine and it set the tone for the entire week.
And I don’t think the venues were chosen by accident. Every stop felt carefully considered. The record stores that organized the shows are institutions in their respective cities.
Crash Records in Leeds.
The Jacaranda in Liverpool.
Sound Knowledge in Marlborough.
Rough Trade East in London.
Resident Records in Brighton.
Banquet Records in Kingston.
These are places where music matters.
And then there were the churches.
St. Peter’s Church in Marlborough was one of the most beautiful venues of the week. A medieval church dating back to the fifteenth century, it also has a personal connection to Henry VIII, whom Damian brought to life so brilliantly in Wolf Hall. Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s Lord Chancellor for many years, was ordained priest there in 1493. When I told Damian about that connection, he seemed genuinely delighted.
Marlborough also gave us the set-list surprise of the week. Roger from Sound Knowledge put in a request for Harvest Moon… Now, technically speaking, that’s a Neil Young song. But for many of us, it’s also part of Damian’s musical story. Damian recorded Harvest Moon for Mission Creep, and I’ve always loved his version of it. And Damian always described it as “one of the most beautiful songs ever written.” So, for those of us who have been around since Mission Creep, it felt like a lovely little gift.
Then there was The Jacaranda.
Just walking into that room gave me goosebumps!
The Jacaranda occupies a special place in Beatles history. Before changing music forever, the young Beatles and their predecessors, The Quarry Men and The Silver Beetles, played there regularly before heading off to Hamburg and changing the music forever. That history is part of what makes The Jacaranda feel so special.
The venue also features murals often attributed to John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe. To be honest, different sources point to different murals as the ones painted by Lennon and Sutcliffe. But Graham Stanley, the manager director of The Jacaranda, what a kind and lovely man he is, told me that Lennon’s sister said once that the murals in the room that Damian performed belonged to John. Here’s one of them.
Damian talked about the murals from the stage.
“Beautiful murals out here apparently made by John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe. It’s alright, I painted them over. It’s fine.”
A little history lesson with a little mischief attached to it. Very Damian. And, of course, this being Liverpool, football was always going to enter the conversation.
Damian asked the question himself:
“Reds or Blues?”
For those unfamiliar with Liverpool football culture, the Reds are Liverpool F.C. and the Blues are Everton F.C. Given that Damian has supported Liverpool since he was seven years old, there was never much doubt where his loyalties lay. As he later wrote on Instagram:
“Big love from a Southern Scouse. YNWA.”
Rough Trade East was special for different reasons. Three years ago Damian launched Mission Creep there. Now he was back launching Sweet Chaos in the same place. There was something wonderfully full-circle about it. It was also very lovely to see so many of Damian’s family and friends there, including his daughter Manon. Damian dedicated the evening to his friend Alex. And the evening felt less like a launch event and more like a homecoming.
The set list remained the same throughout the week.
Question Mark.
Sweet Chaos.
Traffic Jam.
No Man’s Land.
King.
Pentonville Prison.
At the beginning of every show, Damian first introduced his bassist:
“The legendary David Catlin-Birch.”
Many fans know David through World Party or as the original “Paul McCartney” in the Beatles Tribute Band. After seven shows, the fans who did not know David before got to know him pretty well, too.
David has a terrific voice. His bass playing anchored every song. But what really made the shows special was the chemistry between him and Damian. Damian would praise David. David would immediately make some self-deprecating joke. The two clearly enjoy each other’s company, and that warmth spread through every room they played.
And once he introduced David, Damian would say:
“Gonna start with a gentle little love song called Question Mark.”
He also described it as a love song about a woman in bed, which generally got a laugh from the audience. A very Damian way to start an evening.
Gentle. Funny. Slightly cheeky. He’s one of those people that can pull cheeky off seamlessly.
Then came Sweet Chaos itself.
Damian talked about how chaotic his life has been in the last five, six, seven years… But, he said, sometimes chaos could be sweet. Sometimes it could be liberating. And I think maybe that is what this entire album is really about. Not avoiding chaos. But learning how to live inside it. And maybe even discovering the beauty within the disorder.
Traffic Jam followed.
Damian described it as a song about “sweet thoughts on a shitty day.”
Before playing it, he would often tell us:
“Those of you who know their music will recognize a motif in the middle of this.”
Damian has often spoken about David Bowie being one of his musical heroes, and Traffic Jam contains a wonderful nod to Space Oddity. In Bowie’s song, Major Tom is floating above the Earth in his tin can. In Damian’s version:
“Here am I sitting in my tin can, stuck in another stupid traffic jam.”
One man is drifting through space. The other is stuck in London traffic 🙂
Damian also shared that he contacted Bowie’s estate for permission to use the reference, and they gave him the green light.
After Traffic Jam came No Man’s Land.
“I open the album with this song. This is called No Man’s Land.”
Then Damian would explain:
“This is a love is war kind of song.”
A simple description. But so true. Love isn’t literally a war but the two often share a thin line, don’t they?
Time for King.
The story behind King also became the story behind Sweet Chaos itself.
Damian talked about recording Mission Creep on tape at Durham Sound Studios in Kentishtown because he wanted that “in the room” feeling for his first album. When it came time to make Sweet Chaos, however, he wanted something different. Then he met Guy Chambers at a party. The two clicked immediately, and began working together at Chambers’ studio, Sleeper Sounds.
King is the child of that collaboration. It’s a co-write between Damian and Guy Chambers. Damian brought the lyrics. Guy brought the music. And I found myself looking forward to Damian’s guitar solo in King every night. It was fabulous.
Read the rest of the original article at Fan Fun With Damian Lewis