TLC embarked on their long awaited UK & European Tour 2022 this week, which landed the ladies in a variety of locations for the first time in their 30 year career!
T-Boz and Chilli kicked off the tour in the Netherlands on June 21, followed by a show in Belgium on June 22. They then travelled to the UK to perform at the Glastonbury Festival on June 24, marking their debut at the iconic festival and was only the third time they have performed in the UK.
Their first ever UK show was at KOKO in London in 2017, followed by a headline set at the Mighty Hoopla festival in 2018. Of course, they would have performed their upcoming O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert in 2020, but Covid-19 forced the tour to be postponed for two years. The sold out show will now take place on June 28.
“Not only did TLC help invent contemporary R&B and become the best-selling girl group in US history but their lyrics also tackled HIV and sexual harassment”, Glastonbury posted in a statement announcing TLC on the West Holts stage.
TLC performed on the West Holts stage to a hungry crowd of more than 45,000 ready for a dose of top quality 90’s nostalgia from the biggest selling girl group in US history, with over 85 million records sold to date. After a phenomenal introduction by DJ Dubz and the talented band and dancers, TLC grace the stage opening with with debut single, 1992’s “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”, with the raps of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes kept intact.
They continued the set with more singles from their debut album, ‘Ooooooohhh… on the TLC tip“, and Chilli took a moment to tell the crowd, “We have wanted to play here for years and years! And finally we are here today”.
TLC then took us on a nostalgic trip to their 1994 sophomore album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘, with a silky performance of “Diggin’ On You” and then their first Billboard #1 single, “Creep”, complete with the infectious horns played by the sensational live band.
Later into the show, T-Boz shared a heartwarming story about her boyfriend who made her feel like she wasn’t good enough for him, which led her to write the 4th #1 TLC single, “Unpretty”, lifted from their 1999 album, ‘Fan Mail‘. “But don’t worry about it, I made sure I kicked his ass to the curb!”, T-Boz reassured the crowd who responded with a roar of cheers.
Chilli pulled the younger girls aside in the audience to have a chat with “Auntie Tee Tee and [Auntie] Chilli” about the do’s and don’t’s when it comes to finding a suitable man when they’re older. And insisted that they must never, ever, ever talk to a scrub! Which led to the pre-climax of the show, the ever-popular 1999 single, “No Scrubs”.
TLC closed the show with their 1995 anthem, “Waterfalls”, and dedicated it to their sister, Lisa. “This is Left Eye’s favorite song, so let’s do this for Lisa”, T-Boz tells the crowd before performing the song.
The Guardian stated that TLC’s crowd outnumbered many of the day’s Pyramid stage sets by far, and they are, undeniably, as important a “legacy” act as anyone playing on the Pyramid this weekend. If TLC were to play Glastonbury again in the future, the success of this show should let the promoter’s know that TLC are more than worth to headline, and to be on the Pyramid stage.
If you still need your live TLC fix before they complete their current tour, you can still catch them at the following dates:
28th June – O2 Shepherds Bush, London, UK
30th June – Roskilde, Denmark
2nd July – Lytham Festival, UK
3rd July – Love Supreme, UK
TLC Glastonbury 2022 Set List
‘Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg’
‘What About Your Friends’
‘Baby-Baby-Baby’
‘Diggin’ On You’
‘Creep’
‘Silly Ho’
‘Fan Mail’
‘Unpretty’
‘Red Light Special’
‘No Scrubs’
‘Waterfalls’
Stream the full TLC set on BBC iPlayer!
