Wolf Alice incite circle pits at secret Reading Festival set

The London band also played a second set on the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage

Wolf Alice played the first of two sets at Reading on Saturday, making a surprise appearance on the BBC Introducing stage.

The London quartet were introduced on stage by BBC Radio 1 DJ Phil Taggart who called the band his “favourites”. They then opened with ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’, taken from their 2014 EP ‘Creature Songs’.

‘Fluffy’ followed, with bassist Theo Ellis – who was wearing a white flower in his hair – jumping into the photo pit and up to the barrier that was holding the crowd back. Afterwards, frontwoman Ellie Rowsell picked up a furry tiara that had been thrown on stage and put it on her head.

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‘Lisbon’ preceded early single ‘Bros’, which was dedicated to “our friends from Seattle down there” who Rowsell spotted in the crowd. “It’s good to see you come all the way,” she told them.

The group closed the short set with ‘Giant Peach’. Before it, Ellis asked the crowd: “Who’s ready for a circle pit? Literally everyone here running in a circle round and round – it’s the dream.” The audience responded by pushing back to create a circle pit and running wild as the song began.

Just over two hours later, the quartet were back on stage at the NME/BBC Radio 1 Stage for their scheduled performance. “Reading, hello! It’s so good to be here, thank you for coming to see us,” yelled Rowsell after opening songs ‘Fluffy’ and ‘She’.

Following ‘Your Love’s Whore’, the frontwoman told the crowd “I love you guys already, this is gonna be fun.” They then launched into ‘You’re A Germ’ and ’90 Mile Beach’. ‘The Wonderwhy’ was one of only a few songs from the band’s debut album ‘My Love Is Cool’ to be played during the set, with most tracks taken from the band’s early singles and EPs ‘Blush’ and ‘Creature Songs’.

“This is a dream come true for us,” Ellis told the audience after ‘Blush’. “We’re gonna play a song cos we’re all friends and you’re best friends,” he said as an introduction to ‘Bros’.

“Thank you so much for having us!” Rowsell shouted as the band brought the set to a close with ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’. “You’ve been amazing.” As the song neared its end, she dropped her mic and jumped off stage, running along the barrier to hug fans. Ellis then jumped into the crowd, while drummer Joel Amey said by way of goodbye “Thank you Reading, this is a dream come true.”

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Wolf Alice played:

BBC INTRODUCING
‘Moaning Lisa Smile’
‘Fluffy’
‘Lisbon’
‘Bros’
‘Giant Peach’

NME/BBC RADIO 1 STAGE
‘Fluffy’
‘She’
‘Your Love’s Whore’
‘You’re A Germ’
’90 Mile Beach’
‘The Wonderwhy’
‘Lisbon’
‘Storms’
‘Blush’
‘Bros’
‘Giant Peach’
‘Moaning Lisa Smile’

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