Cyndi Lauper, Justin Bieber, Noel Gallagher, Bruce Springsteen: Top gigs of 2016

And from chart pop and EDM to two bushy-bearded American pensioners who were surprise contenders in the Sexiest Bloke of the Year contest, 2016 was a vintage year for live music. The year kicked off in stunning style when Sum 41 smashed it at Birmingham's O2 Institute.

After that impressive start, no genre went uncovered, no style went unplayed and no hit went unsung as the world's biggest rock stars made it to Birmingham, Staffordshire, the Black Country, Shropshire and beyond to entertain us, the paying fans who adore them. Amped-up and ready to party, fans had the best of times. From the mellifluous soul of vintage jazzman Gregory Porter to the esoteric thrills of Denmark's Agnes Obel and from the brilliant petulant pop of Justin Bieber to the straight-ahead-rock'n'roll of comeback king Noel Gallagher; fans turned up, tuned in and rocked out.

Playaz through down a phenomenal night of beats that had everybody dancing, The Alarm and The Stranglers were joint winners for best keep-on-rockin' award, while Placebo turned back the clock as they strutted and swaggered through an anthemic and frenzied set in December.

And if our choice doesn't whet your appetite; consider the ones who could easily have made a Top 20, if not a Top 30. The world's biggest solo star, Adele, was imperious at Birmingham; Two Tone exponents The Specials were at their brilliant best at Wolves Civic while the brilliant Stourbridge film score composer Clint Mansell had grown men in tears when he returned to the Second City following a 10-year absence. There was also the night PJ Harvey rocked the Starworks Warehouse in Wolves.

With open air gigs like the brilliant Kaisers at Cannock, to sweaty clubs and a choice of arenas; the region was once again first when it came to brilliant gigs.

But don't agree with us? Let us know who you would have picked. Email your choices to andy.richard son@shropshirestar.co.uk or leigh.sanders@expressandstar.co.uk and get it off your chest!

Cyndi Lauper

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, June 22

As I said at the time of reviewing her show, no number of words can do Cyndi Lauper justice for her stunning show when she performed in Birmingham.

I grew up listening to Cyndi, as my dad's also a big fan – and yet had spent 25 years of my life not having seen her live. That in itself made the show extra special.

But, of course, meant I had high expectations. And she not only met them but blew them out of the water. In addition to her trademark vocals, Cyndi has long been known for her quirky outlook and strong ethical values; all of which she displayed on the night.

She condemned fascism and acted as down-to-earth as ever; effing and jeffing in her warm Italian/ New York accent.

Fans heard all the hits they had come to see too – from She Bop to I Drove All Night to Time After Time, and – of course – True Colours. They were even treated to a performance by Cyndi on lap steel guitar.

One that will remain in my memory for decades.

Best track: True Colours

Best moment: The above song was played as a touching tribute to the late Jo Cox

By Kirsten Rawlins

Kaiser Chiefs

Cannock Chase, July 10

Forest gigs always attract a range of ages and a number of families, so from the off frontman Ricky Wilson was working the crowd and creating a real energy which reached the back of the 5,000-strong audience.

Every Day I Love You Less and Less, Ruby and Everything is Average Nowadays came pretty much from the off and it wasn't long before crowd-pleaser I Predict A Riot came – no need to wait for the encore. Even new songs such as Parachute went down well.

The night ended, as ever, on Oh My God, which is impossible to get out of your head and no doubt had everyone singing all the way home.

This was a lovely summer's evening and a fantastic venue – the natural 'bowl' meaning everyone gets a good view whether boinging down the front or sitting in foldaway chairs at the top.

Everyone went home happy that night.

Best track: Oh My God

Best moment: Denied pyrotechnics in this woodland setting, their rendition of Angry Mob culminated with a colourful explosion of rainbow smoke

By Diane Davies

Placebo

Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, December 8

We've seen Placebo before, and weren't too enamoured.

Brian Molko can be a moody so-and-so at the best of times, and their aversion to playing the hits can grate a little. Sure, we understand they aren't a greatest hits band. Their album tracks are phenomenal. But don't ignore them.

And this time they didn't, celebrating 20 years of hard-hitting, emotive music that has produced some of British music's finest guitar tracks.

Brian was in fine form and Stefan Olsdal next to him remains one of the most beautiful musicians to grace a stage. They rattled through the early years. Pure Morning was stunning. Teenage Angst still as moody as it ever was. Slave To The Wage a mahoosive karaoke session.

And they, too, showed their ability to reinvent themselves, from newer hits like Infra Red to a stunning, stripped back rendition of 36 Degrees that left hearts in mouths with its newly heartbroken chorus.

There was also a nice touch in the encore when they played their impressive cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill which appeared on the second disc of covers attached to the special edition of 2003's Sleeping With Ghosts. But the emotions really ran high during Without You I'm Nothing.

A song they recorded a version of with the late, great David Bowie, they played his vocals over the top accompanied with footage of the star hanging out with them on the screens. It got the best reception of the night from the crowd, who were eating out of their hands anyway.

Perfect renditions of Special Needs and Nancy Boy appeared too.

Best track: 36 Degrees

Best moment: The touching tribute to David Bowie went down a storm with the fans

By Leigh Sanders

Agnes Obel

Town Hall, Birmingham, November 29

She'd played Birmingham twice before. And one of those gigs was at the none-more-intimate Hare and Hounds, a backstreet boozer in King's Heath.

Obel, however, has grown in stature. The Danish singer/songwriter – think Kate Bush meets Rachmanionov, Bjork meets Ludovico Einaudi, or Tori Amos meets Philip Glass – is a unique talent. And in the beautifully suitable surroundings of Birmingham Town Hall, she made angels sing.

Obel is an esoteric performer, a talented and unique voice who creates a distinct and distinguished blend of classical pop. Cool like Scandanavia, deep like the Baltic Sea, her simple piano motifs were sophisticated and vibrant.

Obel is a fan of Hitchcock's The Birds and makes music that is as haunting and dark. Apocalyptic and augural, portentous and filled with foreboding, Obel's music hot-wired its way deep into the audience's psyche.

Best track: Stone

Best moment: Agnes poking fun at her band's white-dress dress code, saying it made them look like snowflakes

By Andy Richardson

Billy Talent

O2 Institute, Birmingham, October 19

I had waited to see Billy Talent for a very long time and squealed with joy when their 2016 headline tour was announced.

From the minute doors opened the room was packed to bursting with patrons baying for the headline band.

Billy Talent had the perfect blend of audience interaction with nostalgic stories and touchingly stopping their set when one audience member got hurt. It was an enthralling live show with screaming, wrought vocals, thrashing drums and soaring guitar solos tied together with lyrics so loaded with imagery you could almost envision the dystopic scenery their albums create.

Every audience member was left breathless. Ending on smash hits Fallen Leaves and Red Flag not a single body in the O2 Institute was stationary.

Best track: Navy Song

Best moment: Every second of their encore. Their intricate banner dropped to reveal a monochrome one with just Billy Talent scrawled across it before bowling into Fallen Leaves and Red Flag. It went straight back to their DIY, punk roots

By Becci Stanley

ZZ Top

O2 Academy, Birmingham, June 23

ZZ Top is one of my favourite rock bands – and up until this show I had waited 25 years of my life to see them live. And what a treat it was.

They are one of the few acts which seem to be able to light a spark within me – making me move to their beat and grin uncontrollably; whether I want to or not.

And this was the feeling of the packed-out crowd when they played a sell-out show, as when the men strolled out the party began.

Their sexy, gritty sound was thrilling and pitch-perfect throughout, with Dusty and Billy moving their guitars in time and giving their brilliant all-on vocals – with Gimme All Your Lovin, I Gotta Get Paid, Tush and La Grange featuring as particular highlights.

And my word, were they thrilling. How two bushy-bearded men, both aged 67, can be so damn sexy I will never understand.

But their deep vocals, growls into the mic and gritty riffs simply made me go weak at the knees.

Best track: La Grange

Best moment: They played Legs on a white fluffy guitar and matching keyboard

By Kirsten Rawlins

Playaz Birmingham

Rainbow, Birmingham, June 4

It was the first time I'd visited The Rainbow in a long, long time and it certainly did not fail to meet my expectations.

DJ Hazard showed why he's the king of Birmingham with an hour of solid bangers at a rate of about a new track every 30 seconds. DJ Hype..? Well Hype was just Hype and demonstrated the reasons he runs the label.

Meanwhile, the set from Break was one of the best I've seen in a long time and offset the grittier sound of the others with a dark and exquisitely chosen range of heavy yet silky smooth rollers. Perfect tune selection, massive crowd filled with friendly faces and a tonne of frantic energy.

Best track: Hazard – Blackout

Best moment: The whole crowd singing along to Original Nuttah when Hype dropped his VIP mix

By Antony Christou

Gregory Porter

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, April 25

This felt like a special intimate show with an artist who should be playing in much bigger venues.

Soul singer Gregory Porter brought the house down in what is one of the most professional and precise vocal performances I have ever witnessed.

What was perhaps most impressive was Porter's ability to sit back and let the band take over for minutes on end. I haven't seen another gig like it this year.

Best track: Take Me To The Alley

By Jordan Harris

James

Barclaycard, B'ham, May 20 & Civic Hall, Wolves, December 7

It says something that the best track of an electrifying night from Manchester's masters of reinvention was a dance tune, rather than an indie workout or an arena-filling crowd-pleaser.

But it was ever-thus. While others of their generation stagnate and head into the cul-de-sac called nostalgia, James have the vim and brio of a band of kids. That creative spirit, however, is allied to a lifetime's worth of experience and craftsmenship and the James of 2016 are as vibrant and inventive as the band that gave us Laid in 1993, Stripmine in 1988 and the excoriating and brilliant La Petite Mort in 2014.

Tim Booth remains the frontman nonpareil and at the Barclaycard he grooved, shook and mingled with the crowd on one of his now-obligatory walkabouts. The big tunes came of course, but it was a night for the new, rather than the old.

In truth, ranking their Birmingham gig above their end-of-year return to Wolverhampton's Civic may be contentious. For they were also at their brilliantly-engaged best when the Black Country massif tuned in to a swoonsome 20-song set in December.

Starting in Brum with Waltzing Along and To My surprise, the band enjoyed themselves as much as the audience; a fact evidenced by their decision to play both Come Home and Sit Down – huge hits they only ever play when they're in the mood.

One of the final gigs on their Girl At The End of the World tour, their Wolverhampton show was filled with life-affirming moments, from a heaven-sent version of Moving On to a blitzkrieg blast of Attention; and from the happily-received Five-O to a brilliant encore comprising Just Like Fred Astaire, Sometimes and Nothing But Love.

Best track: Curse Curse

Best moment: An encore version of Moving On, written in memory of singer Tim Booth's late mother, followed by an epic Nothing But Love

By Andy Richardson

Noel Gallagher's HFB

Genting Arena, Birmingham, April 30

It was more like going to church than a rock gig.

Combining the best of Oasis with modern classics from his first two solo albums, Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds were welcomed like a God by thousands filling up the Genting Arena.

Both sets of material were equally impressive, the old stuff given a fresh re-working and the new songs brought to life on the big stage

It was an evening of singalongs, mass hugging and plenty of pints, but avoided the sometimes troubling atmosphere of an Oasis show.

Put simply, it was all about the love, as fans of Noel got to say thank you to a man who had no doubt provided the soundtrack to highs and lows of each and every person's life for more than 20 years. The songwriter-turned-frontman even gave a tongue in cheek response to sections of the crowd who had decided to chant 'we want Oasis back'.

Best track: In The Heat Of The Moment

Best moment: Hearing the crowd sing along with an acoustic version of Oasis' Champagne Supernova

By Jordan Harris

Bruce Springsteen

Ricoh Arena, Coventry, June 3

Seeing Springsteen isn't like going to a concert.

His audience at Coventry were pilgrims at the Church of Bruce, packing the rafters for a three-and-a-quarter hour communion with The Boss. He didn't disappoint – he never does.

Across 33 songs, Springsteen ran the gamut, from an emotional The River to dizzying versions of Drive All Night and The Promised Land. Waiting on a Sunny Day and Because The Night were epic and triumphant, though by no means the highlights.

Springsteen built the show to higher peaks. And so, following stunning versions of Born In The USA and Born To Run, he took it up a notch with dizzying, home-run versions of Seven Nights To Rock, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and an absurdly brilliant version of The Isley Brothers' Shout.

Only Bruce could pull that little lot out of the bag. He's our new King of Rock'n'Roll.

Best track: Badlands

Best moment: Springsteen lifts a nine-year-old kid, Haydn Craven, from Dinas Powys, on stage to help him sing Hungry Heart

By Andy Richardson

Silversun Pickups

O2 Institute, Birmingham, November 7

You know when a band just nails that exact set you want to hear?

Every favourite of yours is included, not a tune you listed beforehand is missed out and they sound ruddy good on top of that?

It's like paying to watch your own Spotify playlist come to life before your very eyes.

Well that is exactly what happened here on this intimate evening at Birmingham O2 Institute's smaller room tucked out the back.

No matter where you stand here you can see. And we were given a great show to gawp at.

The Royal We was the surprise of the night with Brian Aubert's scratched vocals sounding even more powerful live than on recording. But some of their other big hits packed more of a punch than on recording, too. Nightlight, for example, sounded thunderous with Nikki Monninger's bass pounding.

There was a lot of political jostling. America was about to usher Donald Trump into the White House and these LA rockers were full of apologies in predicting what was to come.

They extended the monolith Panic Switch which sounded even better with added riffs and percussion.This being a personal favourite of mine it was fantastic to hear it given an extended play.

It had been six years since they had last played the Second City and fans were hoping they would perhaps not leave it so long before gracing us with their presence again. Based on the reception they got, everyone felt the same.

Best track: The Royal We

Best moment: During the encore, Kissing Families had to be stopped and restarted when Aubert got tangled up in his own guitar lead and took a tumble into the drum kit, literally crashing through a cymbal on his way to the floor

By Leigh Sanders

The Alarm/The Stranglers

O2 Academy, Birmingham, March 12

This was a massive treat having two iconic bands in a relatively intimate venue.

Welsh rockers The Alarm bring a dedicated large following to every gig with their performances today as powerful and electric as ever they were.

Despite the passing of the years and battles with the Big C for frontman Mike Peters, the gigs are still full of energy and they quickly had the attention of all The Stranglers fans as well as the large contingent of Alarm devotees.

The trademark anthemic numbers went down a storm but even the more melodic numbers such as One Guitar and In The Poppy Fields were a hit. By the time The Stranglers, with frontman Jean-Jacques Burnel, hit the stage the crowd were fired up and ready to rock.

This tour was a celebration of the 1978 Black and White album so the crowd knew what to expect – and lapped it up.

The performance was flawless and as well as the album, such hits as Peaches and No More Heroes sent the crowd into a 70s punk frenzy – well maybe just a little tamer.

This may have been a bit of a retro gig but what's wrong with that? Both bands have easily stood the test of time and it was great to watch such musical heavyweights live and kicking.

Best track: No More Heroes (The Stranglers)

Best moment: Sixty Eight Guns, The Alarm hit which united every music fan in the room. It began with frontman Mike Peters alone on acoustic guitar to be joined in the second chorus by the rest of the band – and the room went wild

By Diane Davies

Funeral For A Friend

O2 Institute, Birmingham, April 13 & 14

My 14-year-old self wept when emo titans Funeral For A Friend announced their impending split and One Last Chance To Dance Tour in 2015.

Come into 2016, and over two nights the Welsh mob, hailing from the town of Bridgend near Cardiff, played their popular albums Hours (2005) and debut Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation (2003) in full, complete with Gareth Ellis-Davies returning to play bass on a few choice tracks.

The atmosphere in the O2 Institute was electric from the moment each and every audience member stepped inside ready for the nostalgic set to begin. From start to finish buckets of tears were shed as the band went out with an emotional bang, playing the tracks that shaped thousands of alternative teenager's lives.

The execution of these songs was radio perfect as drums and basslines boomed, the guitars crashed and vocalist Matthew Davies-Kreye flew through harmonious renditions of his heartfelt lyrics that still held the same bite as when they were first put to paper.

The band seemed truly humbled by the reaction they received, constantly taking breaks between songs to thank the audience for their attendance and share personal stories of their time in Birmingham and their career as a whole – an intimate touch that pulled at mine and many others' heartstrings.

On their final bow in Birmingham, their beaming smiles and welling up eyes spoke more words than their onstage stories ever could – and we lapped it all up.

Best track: Juneau

Best moment: The first ringing chords of Into Oblivion reverberating around the room, a song the band rarely plays complete with flashing blue lights and nautical imagery emulating the song's music video

By Becci Stanley

Sum 41

O2 Institute, Birmingham, February 12

The Kerrang Tour returned to the O2 Institute this year with a massive announcement: Sum 41 are returning to the UK.

After a lengthy and silent hiatus, Sum 41 returned with a bang, touting a full UK headline tour and an upcoming album – 13 Voices.

The punk rockers took to the stage with the energy of a thousand suns burning straight into Motivation and blazing through an eclectic set compiling brand new singles alongside anthems such as Fat Lip and In Too Deep.

It was as if the band had never taken a break, their riffs were raging and packed as big a punch as ever, and their lyrics still encapsulated the raw punk edge Sum 41 was formed with.

Combined with blazing sets from support acts Roam and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, the O2 Institute was a party from start to finish.

Best track: Still Waiting

Best moment: Sum 41's entrance to the stage. Choral music blasted across a pitch black room before strobe lights and the first chords of Motivation accompanied the band running abruptly onto the stage

By Becci Stanley

Justin Bieber

Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, October 17

This gig was the epitome of the spectacular pop arena concert experience...loud, bright, frenetic, overpriced and hugely entertaining.

The boy wonder's vocals sounded nigh on perfect, not surprising when they were mostly recorded and mimed to. But would the fans have prefered gasps to spoil the machine-tooled pop perfection of his Purpose album, for that would surely have been the human consequence of all those jerky, Pinocchio-gets-electro-shock treatment dance moves?

The baggy-panted reverse baseball capped 22-year-old megastar courted controversy when he tried to quieten his thousands of adoring young fans by telling them that screaming was 'obnoxious' and suggested they 'take a chill pill'. Actually, if it hadn't been for this outburst, the 50-tatoo wunderkind would have been a vacuum at the heart of the razzamatazz.

Instead, he remains a tick-tocking timebomb of moody angst wrapped up in top tunes.

Best track: Love Yourself

Best moment: The surreal spectacle of Bieber somersaulting on a trampolene suspended above the audience.

By Leon Burakowski

Ruffneck Ting in the Roof

PST, Birmingham, November 26

Absolute madness from the very moment it started until the moment it finished. I've never seen the place fill as quickly as that and then stay that packed until the end. There's so many good moments to choose from, every DJ delivered something truly special.

Aries unleashed a host of dubwise reggae cuts, Habitat gave roller after roller, Serial Killaz dropped some absolute bombshells, the list goes on.

Best track: Serial Killaz playing Under Yuh Skirt (Zeds Dead Remix)

By Antony Christou