Everything But The Girl cover Charli XCX, Adrianne Lenker and more as they play first gigs in 25 years at intimate London shows

9 April, 2025

Everything But The Girl have performed their first gigs in 25 years at a pair of intimate London shows.

On April 6 and 7, Everything But The Girl – the duo of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt – staged their first public concerts since 2000 at MOTH Club in London. To mark the special occasion, Thorn and Watt played a myriad of their original hits, as well as covers of songs from the likes of Charli XCX, Adrianne Lenker and more.

The duo opened their April 6 show with a cover of Cole Porter’s ‘Night and Day’, and later in the set played a cover of Charli XCX’s ‘I Might Say Something Stupid’. At the April 7 gig, they also performed covers of Bridget St. John’s ‘Song To Keep You Company’, Adrianne Lenker’s ‘Anything’ and Family Stereo’s ‘Removed’.

Footage from the shows has yet to be made available on social media.

Everything But The Girl’s MOTH Club setlists were:

April 6:
‘Night and Day’ (Cole Porter cover)
‘No Difference’
‘Mine’
‘Hendra’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Song To Keep You Company’ (Bridget St. John cover)
‘I Don’t Understand Anything’
‘Smoke’ (Tracey Thorn song)
‘Winter’s Eve’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Single’
‘I Might Say Something Stupid’ (Charli XCX cover)
‘Run A Red Light’
‘Frost and Fire’
‘North Marine Drive’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Small Town Girl’ (Tracey Thorn song)
‘Removed’ (Family Stereo cover)
‘Irene’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Downhill Racer’
‘Mirrorball’
‘Nothing Left to Lose’
’25th December’

April 7:
‘Night and Day’ (Cole Porter cover)
‘No Difference’
‘Mine’
‘Hendra’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Song To Keep You Company’ (Bridget St. John cover)
‘Anything’ (Adrianne Lenker cover)
‘Smoke’ (Tracey Thorn song)
‘Winter’s Eve’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Single’
‘I Might Say Something Stupid’ (Charli XCX cover)
‘Run A Red Light’
‘Frost and Fire’
‘North Marine Drive’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Small Town Girl’ (Tracey Thorn song)
‘Removed’ (Family Stereo cover)
‘Irene’ (Ben Watt song)
‘Downhill Racer’
‘Mirrorball’
‘Nothing Left to Lose’
’25th December’

The concerts come after the band returned with their first new music in 24 years back in January 2023, dropping the stirring single ‘Nothing Left To Lose’. In April that same year, they dropped the album ‘Fuse’, their first record since 1999.

Upon its release, ‘Fuse’ was given a glowing four-star review by NME and described as “immensely satisfying”. “Beyond the release of this project, the band have little in the way announced for upcoming shows, but the strength of their return on ‘Fuse’ is plenty,” it read. “This is the rare occasion of a reunion between collaborators – as partners, parents, creators – that proves how big an impact their music has made on the landscape that has followed, and to enjoy and seize this moment while it’s here.”

Speaking to NME about their comeback, Watt said: “We’ve never been a particularly nostalgic band – we’ve always been known for making a different record every time. Sometimes that’s meant going against the mainstream, but we just try to keep ourselves interested and keep things contemporary.

“We wanted to come back with something modern-sounding,” he added. “We’re not out there on the heritage trail doing ‘best of’ tours or playing arenas. We just wanted to make a piece of work that would sound great now in 2023. That was the driver.”

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