Garbage and Placebo live at Robert Smith's Teenage Cancer Trust: watch the videos and setlists from the show, including covers of Cure and Sinéad O’Connor songs

The Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall, curated by Robert Smith (Cure), featured Placebo and Garbage on the evening of March 28th, between reworkings of their own repertoire, covers of classic tracks and unexpected surprises.

With Robert Smith taking over from Roger Daltrey as curator of this year's lineup, the week of concerts opened with Elbow, followed by high-impact sets from Mogwai and My Bloody Valentine. The Manic Street Preachers paid tribute to the Cure with a cover of “Close To Me”, while Chvrches previewed their new track “Conman”.

Among the audience on Saturday night, dedicated to Placebo and Garbage, was also Yungblud, who has previously shared the stage with Brian Molko.

The return of Placebo

For Placebo, this marked their first concert after nearly two years of inactivity, and they opted for a stripped-down set built on bare, reworked arrangements. Opening with a cover of Sinéad O'Connor's "Jackie", absent from their live repertoire for over a decade, immediately set the tone: essential, suspended, more focused on atmosphere than impact.

The setlist continued with tracks like “Special Needs” and “Beautiful James”, while “Pure Morning”, played for the first time since 2018, marked one of the most recognizable moments. Even more significant was the return of “Follow The Cops Back Home”, absent for over fifteen years, greeted by the crowd with an ovation. The set closed with “Centrefolds”, brought back to the stage after more than twenty years. Brian Molko made no secret of his nerves about the comeback, underlining the significance of the occasion and thanking the audience, the charity and Smith himself.

Placebo's setlist ran as follows:

Jackie (Sinéad O’Connor cover)

Special Needs

Begin The End

Pure Morning

Taste In Men

Blind

Follow The Cops Back Home

Beautiful James

Slave To The Wage

Special K

Post Blue

Meds

Centrefolds

Garbage between songs and slogans

The arrival of Garbage, introduced by Laura Palmer’s Theme by Angelo Badalamenti, marked a sharp change of pace. Shirley Manson's band's set alternated between recent material and classics, keeping to a tighter, more direct structure. Tracks from the new album, such as “There’s No Future in Optimism” and “Hold”, flowed seamlessly alongside historic numbers like “Vow”, “Run Baby Run” and “I Think I’m Paranoid”.

Shirley Manson spoke up several times, touching on political themes – from the protests against the far right held in London that same day, to the defence of the trans community – openly criticising several recent decisions made by the British government.

Among the covers performed by Garbage were “The Men Who Rule The World” by David Bowie and “Lovesong” by the Cure, presented as an explicit tribute to Smith's influence. The closing run of “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Garbage's setlist was as follows:

There's No Future In Optimism

Hold

Fix Me Now

I Think I'm Paranoid

Vow

Run Baby Run

The Trick Is To Keep Breathing

Not My Idea

The Men Who Rule The World

Wolves

Lovesong (The Cure cover)

Chinese Fire Horse

Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)

When I Grow Up

Push It

The Day That I Met God

Encore:

Stupid Girl

Only Happy When It Rains

The context of the festival

The evening was part of a broader series that also featured artists such as Elbow, Mogwai and My Bloody Valentine, with several Cure tributes scattered throughout the lineup. Yungblud was also in the audience, a sign of a crowd spanning different ages and points of reference. Overall, the event worked as a meeting point between legacy and the present moment: on one hand a reinterpretation of a shared heritage, on the other an explicit use of the stage as a platform for speaking out. It's a balance that still defines the role of these bands within a scene that continues to gather around the figure of Smith.

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