Inside Stormzy’s secret Liverpool gig at Camp and Furnace

Multi award-winning grime star Stormzy performed a secret gig at Liverpool’s Camp and Furnace on Tuesday night to a select crowd of a few hundred.

Tickets were handed out to the London-born rapper’s fans through a range of competitions and LiverpoolWorld were lucky enough to receive a VIP invite to the intimate performance.

The venue for the exclusive gig was only revealed on the morning of the show by sponsors Rockstar Energy Drinks, who also laid on a free bar and food.

I have been to enough of these types of gigs to know not expect too much, but from the moment Stormzy took to the stage, following a set by his sister and DJ Rachael Anson, it was clear he was well up for the 35-minute performance.

Opening with This Is What I Mean, the title track of his third studio album, the 2019 Glastonbury headliner quickly had the small crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. “Tonight’s going to be special. Let’s have a f****** good time,” he said.

The rapper, reported to have recently reunited with ex-girlfriend and Love Island presenter Maya Jama, was joined on stage by four backing singers and a DJ.

By the time crowd favourite Big For Your Boots followed on from Hide & Seek, the shirt was off and beads of sweat were pouring down Stormzy’s muscular frame as the strutted about on stage.

The free bar, offering energy drink-based cocktails with vodka, rum and gin, certainly helped the overall mood too, although it also gave me flashbacks of 4am trips to the bar during all night clubbing session at Turnmills.

Stormzy took time out to interact with 500-strong crowd, asking where they had travelled from. There were cheers for those in their home city and mock boos at the mention of Manchester.

“I forget, let’s not talk about Manchester tonight,” the 30-year-old singer and Manchester United fan joked.

Finishing the show with 2019 hit Vossi Bop, Stormzy encouraged the crowd to shout the lyrics “f*** the Government and f*** Boris”, which certainly went down well in Liverpool.

The star headed down into the crowd for selfies at the end of the gig, handing one his trademark bucket hat and another ended up with his towel covered in the sweat he had worked up during the gig.

“Connecting with my audience on such a personal and intimate level tonight was a privilege,” Stormzy said.