The Dreaming Spires recently released their first album in almost ten years. Just before this gig started, one fan mentioned that it had also been around a decade since the most recent performance by The Dreaming Spires live in Glasgow. Ouch. No pressure, guys!

November 13, 2025: The Dreaming Spires live in Glasgow at The Rum Shack

Normal Town is a concept album inspired by Didcot being named ‘the most normal town in England’ in terms of demographics, opinions, and experiences. As an album with a unified story to tell and a picture to paint, it was interesting to hear Normal Town live almost in its entirety, in order, with contextualising stories. This showcase followed by an intermission and then an extended encore of greatest hits essentially positioned The Dreaming Spires as their own support act.

The Dreaming Spires’ frontman and lyricist Robin Bennett gamely took on the role of raconteur. He spoke about the 2017 ‘normal town’ survey before striking up a rousing version of its Normal Town namesake.

Thomas Collison’s synth and keyboard textures opened proceedings and underpinned the set throughout.

Normalisation was also more rock-oriented live than the album version, channeling Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty as the distinctive chord progression rang out.

The new album explores the pace of societal and environmental change, which is typified by the lyric “they replaced us with robots.” When Normalisation was written in 2020, that line referred to mechanical equipment; the music video explains that around 1,200 robots are used in Oxford’s Mini factory. Now, however, the robot reference is commonly presumed to be about AI.

It soon became clear that bassist and brother Joe Bennett takes on a more prominent role live, akin to co-vocalist most of the time. That was all for the good because those sibling harmonies walk hard.

If you’ve ever met Bennett, it will come as no surprise that he’s a polymath. Which Bennett, you ask? Well, both of them, but Robin for the purpose of this anecdote. He spoke about painting pictures of the Didcot cooling towers when he was young. He has now immortalised their destruction, amidst tragedy, in song.

Didcot is a fast-growing town, Robin explained. That’s an understatement. The hamlet grew from a population of around 200 in 1841 to over 32,000 in 2001. He talked of the literal and linguistic development of what were once called industrial estates: “it was called a trading estate, then it was called a light industrial park.” He’s captured the latter phrase in the instantly catchy song 21st Century Light Industrial.

“I’ve worked many jobs there and I’ve only been fired once.” – Robin Bennett

Particularly nice drum work from Jamie Dawson on this one.

Robin explained that Stolen Car is “based on an almost true story. In reality, the car was the driver’s own, but they did get chased by the police.”

The venue was seated and although it had great sound (kudos to Melanie) and delicious food, the room was unfortunately rather cold. It’s hard for people to rock out while sitting on folding chairs wrapped up in their coats. Also, you know how Glasgow audiences are known for being epic? It goes both ways. Sometimes they reserve judgement like they’re making a band work hard to impress them. In that context, seeing people slap their knees in time to this new song was a certifiable win.

Faraway Blue Skies, about a musician with wanderlust, was an opportunity for a story about Jamie Dawson’s migratory patterns: from Didcot to Hollywood to Didcot to Hollywood to Texas to the “Beverly Hills of Didcot.”

Linescapes is a word Robin suggested when his ecologist friend Hugh Warwick discussed a as-then-unnamed book he was writing about the lines that humans cut through the landscape. These lines can impact wildlife habitats and behaviour; not always for the worse. “There’s a lot of biodiversity next to railways lines,” for example.

Bitter Pill was a lovely acoustic strum through a layered soundscape, whereas Robin noted that the next song, Where I’m Calling From was, in the live environment, “a little more out there.” The hard stop was an effective touch.

In case it felt too long without a Didcot story, no need to worry. Robin explained that he was wearing the jacket he wore to get married, designed in the style of a reference photo of Pete Townsend. He later learned that Townsend got married at Didcot Registry Office. ‘Why?!’ yelled a bemused Glaswegian punter.

We were ready for another story to accompany These Days Will End but Robin drew a blank. “It’s the second to last song on the album so there’s that,” he shrugged endearingly. The band offered a false stop that was so excited to return to the fray that it barely stopped at all. Robin harnessed his guitar’s feedback well to phase out the end.

Finally (for part one) came Real Life, the apogee of the beautiful Bennett harmonies we’d been treated to all evening. This really highlighted the song’s thought-provoking philosophy: “there’s only one life so don’t wish it away.”

Bennett headed off to the merch desk with a killer marketing hook; telling the crowd that buying Normal Town would mean “you can hear the one song we didn’t play.” The band also offered the final few copies of a 7 inch single they’d recently found that they’d ‘pre-signed’ a decade ago.

15 minutes later, the band (and Joe’s shadow) bounced back on stage for an all-out fan-favourites set. Still Believe In You rolled seamlessly into Everything All The Time.

Speaking of rolling, We Used To Have Parties was introduced with the explanation that they’d met a preacher on an American train who ruefully reminisced about those parties. Must have been some parties!

Robin himself reminisced about performing All Kinds of People on The Andrew Marr Show in the presence of then-Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond. He still sees the funny side in ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ asking the withering question: “are you a student band?”

Collison and Dawson got a few minutes off when the Bennetts duetted on Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City. As a sign of the times, this cover is The Dreaming Spires’ most played song on Spotify. It seems they’ll have to work harder to write that final masterpiece that will sum up their entire lives.

The band reconvened for a spirited version of Dusty in Memphis. Not a cover, but it would be ‘Tik Tok famous’ if there was any justice. Robin stepped out into the crowd for the singalong part. You know we got it.

Despite the cold and the plastic seats, the rocking set was thoroughly appreciated and well received, culminating in a standing ovation as a well-earned reward.

The Dreaming Spires live in Glasgow setlist

1. Normal Town
2. Normalisation
3. Cooling Towers
4. 21st Century Light Industrial
5. Stolen Car
6. Faraway Blue Skies
7. Linescapes
8. Bitter Pill
9. Where I’m Calling From
10. These Days Will End
11. Real Life

**Intermission**

12. Still Believe In You
13. Everything All The Time
14. We Used To Have Parties
15. All Kinds of People
16. Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen cover)
17. Dusty In Memphis

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