Some seemingly small events in your life become core memories. One of my core memories was the morning ritual before school, when my mum and I would put on MTV, back in the early 90s, when it was playing actual music videos, and catch a few before leaving the house. It was during one of those mornings when suddenly a pair of big, muddy stompy boots walked into the frame, the hands belonging to the person with the boots strummed a guitar, I saw the hat, I heard the voice – and I wanted to be her. In the years following, ‘What’s Up?’ – because this was of course the video that shown me versions of who I can become when I grow up – has gone through a journey from a grunge era anthem to a karaoke staple.
But on the hottest day of the year so far, a brave crowd gathered from far and wide in Shepherd’s Bush, equipped with iconic hats, punk paraphernalia – and hand held fans – to witness the genius of Linda Perry and the 4 Non Blondes live, me amongst them, with a yet another iteration of stompy boots, which I have become my thing ever since I could buy my own footwear. One person in the front row saw them first 30 years ago and multiple times since, another travelled from Italy to see them that night, some have done the full Linda Perry tour that happened that week, from a screening of “Linda Perry: Let It Die Here“, via Rough Trade East signing to tonight. There were people holding signed CD booklets. The anticipation was palpable.
Finally, Linda’s daughter Rhodes came on stage with a microphone and joyfully announced “Ladies & gentlemen, the 4 Non Blondes!” and the full original line up too to the stage for a rendition of ‘Train’ from their seminal 1991 record Bigger, Better, Faster, More! In between songs, Perry shared anecdotes and bantered with the audience with ease. “Hey, I like your hat” she said to a man wearing her trademark steampunk hat with glasses in one of the first rows. While tuning for ‘Drama Queen’, she said “I wrote this one for Courtney Love, but she was… not in the position to take it at the time, so I kept it for the 4 Non Blondes!”
The set was also full of brand new material, and Perry addressed the crowd half way through:
I know how hard it is to come see a band and they’re not singing all the songs from the record, but I’m 61 years old now and I cannot sing all of them. Some of them are stupid, they are from a different time. I had to write songs that make sense to me today – if you give these songs a chance, they are awesome, they’re from the heart – I thought I needed to tell you that.
But the London crowd was on board from the get go, simply trusting Linda Perry’s talent – after all, whether it’s through 4 Non Blondes or iconic work she has done for other artists, he has been shaping our music tastes for decades. I was really touched by how inclusive she was. At one point, she brought Rhodes up to the stage again to properly introduce her to the audience:
“This is Rhodes, my 11 year old. I never thought I’d be a parent – I didn’t think this was something that was possible for me – and to such a lovely human being. She’s been a trooper all week, coming along to all the interviews, getting me tea, trying to rub my feet – I just wanted to say thank you.”
Later on she got Dawn Richardson, the band’s drummer, to come towards the front of the stage. “Dawn? Get up here for a sec – Dawn’s always at the back!” When the crowd cheered, Perry quipped “Dawn needs more than that!!” – which got Richardson a thunderous applause. She thanked them by saying “It’s nice to see your faces all clear” before returning to her drum kit. Perry then continued to thank everyone in the crew working the event, and made sure she got their names right. Even one of the photographers I met in the pit remarked how wonderful Perry was all week – he came all the way from Manchester, wasn’t a professional, but Perry’s music meant a lot to him and he was given an opportunity to follow her around London. When a lot of artists are getting cynical, this is the kind of leadership we need in the music industry right now.
The night wouldn’t be complete without ‘What’s Up’. Leaning into the karaoke trope, Perry did it differently. She came into the pit and orchestrated the audience to sing along with her, assigning us backing parts to her vocals before letting us scream the chorus from the top of our lungs. And in that moment I came full circle with the girl who saw that music video in 1991. Linda Perry showed me who I could be – and 35 years later I can safely say I am comfortable in my non-conformance, and I have walked many miles in various muddy, stompy boots. As I was walking out of the venue, I saw a mother with a daughter who must have been my age when I discovered 4 Non Blondes and I thought to myself – what a gift. Who knows, maybe that girl will be rocking out on stage in a few years?
4 Non Blondes at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – photo by Magda Campagne 
4 Non Blondes at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – photo by Magda Campagne 
4 Non Blondes at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – photo by Magda Campagne 
4 Non Blondes at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – photo by Magda Campagne 
4 Non Blondes at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – photo by Magda Campagne
Opening for 4 Non Blondes were Lucia & the Best Boys, a Glaswegian indie rock outfit fresh from their Isle of Wight festival performance, and about to release their sophomore album Picking Petals on 31st July. Lucia Fairfull’s charismatic stage presence and voice full of emotion took no time to warm the crowd up – and the band was grateful for the reception. “What a lovely audience here. It’s a pleasure to be here supporting 4 Non Blondes and, of course, playing Shepherd’s Bush Empire. I love these theatre venues so much.” The band already had fans in the crowd, because ‘Big Romance’ (originally a duet with The Last Dinner Party‘s Abigail Morris) got a roaring reception, and ‘Angels Cry Too’ from their debut Burning Castles had audience singing along. ‘Wolf Cry’, Lucia’s favourite song from the new album, was a great taster of what we can see from them in the near future. They will be touring in autumn, so if you missed them this summer, check them out at their headline gigs.
