If you wanna come back to Yorkshire again, The Vaccines are more than alright to do so - as the intercontinental band performed a packed out show that truly felt like a homecoming (even if it wasn't).

There is a specific kind of dreamlike quality in the air at the O2 Academy Leeds tonight - a scent of steep spilled bar drinks, damp denim, and the undeniable hum of 2011, the year the band broke through again – what simpler times.

Yet The Vaccines are back, and they aren't just playing any old tried show; they’re conducting a high-octane séance of decade-spanning hits for the indie-sleaze generation.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby were the night’s openers and set the bar as high as they could with their effortlessly catchy Morrissey-meets-Orbison crooning backed by some infectious pop riffs.

The Vaccines enjoyed a night rolling down memory lane in Leeds. (Photo: Luc Burke-Lejeune).

placeholder image — The Vaccines enjoyed a night rolling down memory lane in Leeds. (Photo: Luc Burke-Lejeune).

The Chicago four were fronted by the encapsulating Wes Leavins, who has definitely taken a stage and vocal noting from present-day Alex Turner, but unlike the Sheffieldian-wannabe American, this lead is genuinely from across the pond.

Making their Leeds debut in a suitably bold, statesmanlike fashion, Brigette Calls Me Baby traded their jangling spurs for some shiny Doc Martens and enticed an audience into their relatively new formed bubble, but this brisk evening in Yorkshire was always going to belong to the headliners that understand these damp, sticky-floored academies like the back of their guitar-playing hands.

Marking the 15th anniversary of their seminal debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, the animated Justin Young (looking and feeling as young as ever) tagged with his crew have returned to the city that arguably loves a solid guitar anthem more than its own grandmother.

And let’s be brutally honest here: in 2026, where the charts are often a clinical landscape of algorithm-friendly pop, there is something deeply rebellious and inherently fresh-feeling about four blokes who know what they do best, accompanied by a smashing wall of fuzzy bristling guitars.

Fans were treated to a trawl through some of the band's greatest hits. (Photo: Luc Burke-Lejeune).

The Vaccines certainly didn't mess around, diving straight into the album in its entirety like seagulls plummeting to the nearest dropped chip.

From the moment the frantic, sixty-second blitz of Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) kicked off, the floor was a churning sea of limbs and faces as bodies were shifted from one side of the room to the other.

Pacesetter and the ever-so-quintessential indie frontman, Justin, moved with a jittery grace that suggests he’s still trying to outrun his own hooks, and even fifteen years later the energetic youthful light from the four, led by the pulsating Young, hasn’t dimmed one bit, as setlist staples like If You Wanna are still delivered with that refreshed earworm substance that reverberates off the walls so naturally.

Even if the last decade and a half has seen this arguable contender for the British national anthem, treat the insides of every household and pub at least once it still holds that affirmative grip it always had on the widespread UK music scene.

The Vaccines' frontman Justin Young was in fine form throughout. (Photo: Luc Burke-Lejeune).

Post Break-Up Sex followed effortlessly and ultimately remains the decisive anthem for the gloriously messy.

Every riff was hummed, and every word was screamed back in full force with the kind of throat-shredding conviction usually reserved for religious deities or, unfortunately for myself, yet maybe not for other attendees due to the setting, but that deafening siren of cheers that a late Leeds United winner could receive.

Archetypal Vaccines’ track Norgaard, introduced with the cheeky nod to its brevity and flair, was a sharp, stabbing reminder of why we fell in love with them in the first place: they make 140 seconds feel like a lifetime of unprecedented fun.

While the first half was a meticulous recreation of the 2011 record, from start to finish, the second half of the show was dedicated to the "fan favourites", which honestly felt like the band taking us on a historic victory lap.

Tracks from 2024’s Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations sat surprisingly well alongside the classics, proving the band hasn't just survived; they’ve evolved massively.

All My Friends Are Falling In Love provided the night’s shimmering, atmospheric peak and climax, essentially proving that behind the "three-chords-and-the-truth" exterior, the band always possessed a knack for widescreen romanticism that bleeds deep within a genre they’ve contributed so bloody much to.

Was it a nostalgia trip? Absolutely.

But when the songs are this sharp and the energy this infectious, who cares?

The Vaccines came to Leeds to prove that What Did You Expect wasn't just a question; it was a well-kept promise.

Fifteen years later, they’re still delivering a full-fledged package of an unbeatable great night out, and to quote Justin Young, “Like most self-righteous bands, we believe our best work is still ahead of us," and I truly take his word on that sentiment.