Blossoms pay tribute to Viola Beach at secret Reading Festival set

Chart-toppers ask for applause for their former touring partners

Blossoms have paid tribute to late band Viola Beach during a secret set at Reading Festival.

After recently reaching No 1 with their self-titled debut album, Blossoms played a show at a rammed BBC Introducing tent before their scheduled appearance at the NME/BBC Radio 1 tent tomorrow.

Viola Beach were a support band to Blossoms during a tour at the start of the year. Halfway through the tour, Viola Beach took a break to play headline shows in Europe. The band and their manager Craig Tarry were killed in a car accident in Sweden on February 13.

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At their secret show today (August 26), singer Tom Ogden said: “Let’s have a round of applause for Viola Beach” to a deafening response from the crowd.

Rather than replace Viola Beach for the remainder of the tour in February, Blossoms played a recording of the band’s support show at Leamington Spa’s Zephyr Lounge two days before the fatal crash.

Blossoms appeared at a tribute show to Viola Beach at their hometown venue Warrington Parr Hall in March, where Ogden told BBC: “What happened is unheard of in history, so devastating and shocking. You know they would have been having the time of their lives.”

A compilation of Viola Beach’s songs was released as a self-titled album in July, reaching No 1. It was replaced by Blossoms’ album at the top spot. Viola Beach’s song ‘Boys That Sing’ was covered by Coldplay during their headline slot at Glastonbury in June.

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