The Beach Boys have been confirmed as playing a huge open air show in London to celebrate 60 years of ‘Pet Sounds’.
- READ MORE: Brian Wilson, 1942-2025: culture-defining innovator who represented pop music’s awakening
The gig will be held on Sunday June 14 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, as part of the Live At Chelsea concert series, which returns in 2026 for the first time in four years.
Taking to the stage there, the iconic band will celebrate over five decades of making music at the historic site, and also use the slot to celebrate 60 years of their landmark album ‘Pet Sounds’.
It will be one of Beach Boys’ first shows since the death of frontman Brian Wilson earlier this summer. News of his death was shared in June, and the 82-year-old was reported to have died due to “respiratory arrest”, with sepsis and cystitis listed as contributing factors.
Going forward, the gig will see the band fronted by co-founder and lyricist Mike Love, and he will be joined by longtime member Bruce Johnston, musical director Brian Eichenberger, Christian Love, Tim Bonhomme, Jon Bolton, Keith Hubacher, Randy Leago, and John Wedemeyer.
Tickets go on sale on Friday (November 28) at 10am and pre-sale options begin from Wednesday (November 26). A portion of proceeds from the concerts supports the ongoing care of the Chelsea Pensioners – visit here to get tickets.
The Beach Boys are the second artist to be confirmed for the returning summer series in Chelsea next year, following on from news that The Proclaimers will be headlining on Saturday June 13. More artists are set to be announced soon.
When news of Wilson’s death was shared, Mike Love shared a statement that read: “Our journey together was filled with moments of brilliance, heartbreak, laughter, complexity and most of all, LOVE. Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio.”
He then went on to reveal that he spent time with Wilson before his death, and they got together to sing some of the band’s biggest hits.
The surviving members of The Beach Boys paid their respects to Wilson in a joint message, saying that he “was the soul of our sound” and, in August, Al Jardine accused Mike Love of “megalomania problems” after his speech at Wilson’s funeral.
“Mike wanted everybody to know that he wrote every single word of ‘Good Vibrations’,” Jardine said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I didn’t feel the compassion, let’s put it that way. Mike’s got some serious megalomania problems.”
“I was focusing on Brian, and Mike was more focused on Mike,” he added. “I think that is what it boils down to.”
Other tributes for Wilson came from the likes of Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Nancy Sinatra, Sting, Biffy Clyro and many more.
In an obituary, NME celebrated the singer as a “culture-defining innovator who represented pop music’s awakening”, and added that his death saw him “leaving behind a legacy of pop symphonies”.
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