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"Suede" Ignites Clockenflap Stage After Eight Years

Glass Animals brings “Heat Waves”, the longest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 to the largest stage in Clockenflap.

One of Hong Kong’s favourite Britpop bands, Suede is back with a vengeance at this year’s Clockenflap. Brett Anderson, the main vocalist of Suede, showcased his famous microphone swinging during the show. Their performance even broke through the generations as numbers of young audiences were also attracted to have a glimpse of them.

In 1999, thousands of fans packed into the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to watch their show, resulting in several injuries.

Suede’s performance on the second night this year included songs such as “Beautiful Ones”, “Animal Nitrate” and “Trash”. They joined French electronica duo Air, British rapper Central Cee, Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts and others at the popular music festival from November 29 to December 1 in Central Harbourfront.

Suede performs in Hong Kong for the first time since 2016.

Benson Chiu, a longtime Suede fan was excited to see the band play in Hong Kong again. “It was a precious moment when they performed ‘Saturday Night’ on a Saturday night,” he said. “I hope they will come to Hong Kong again in the future.”

Another highlight of the festival was the community singalong of “Seven Nation Army” during American guitarist Jack White’s performance. As the greatest hit by The White Stripes, created by Jack White, “Seven Nation Army” has since become a famous stadium chant. The crowd in Clockenflap continued chanting the song after the show ended.

Fans enjoy the shows while holding their beer.

Apart from big names and headliners, Clockenflap also showcased many hidden gems. Gloria Chan, who was at the festival for the third time, said she was surprised to discover the Japanese group Turtle Island. “Their performance was so amazing that they seamlessly blended lots of instruments together without any dissonance,” said Chan.

Canadian band Mother Mother performs on day one.

Clockenflap sold out twice in 2023, but sales weren’t as good this year. Many participants felt that this year's festival was much less crowded than in previous years. 

There were numerous anti-drug campaign banners inside and outside the venue, stating that “space oil” vaping is prohibited. 

Uniformed police patrolled the entrance and the smoking area, checking people’s identity and bags.

Anti-drug banners at Clockenflap.
British DJ and producer Jamie xx performs his DJ set on Sunday night.
Hong Kong-based singer Serrini stuns the audience with her live performance.
Korean rock musician The Black Skirts plays until the last moment on Friday night.
Taiwan-based punk band Gigantic Roar rocks the fans and brings mosh pits within the crowds.

《The Young Reporter》

The Young Reporter (TYR) started as a newspaper in 1969. Today, it is published across multiple media platforms and updated constantly to bring the latest news and analyses to its readers.

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