Qulture Magazine

Words & Photos: Song Gao

Reinvigorated by their 2023 reformation and a high-profile signing to Modern Sky UK this February, Scottish Britpop revivalists Vida officially ignited their next chapter with a flawless homecoming at Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s. The air inside King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut was thick with anticipation long before the first guitar chord was struck, charged by a ritual that has become a sacred rite of passage for Scottish indie bands.

As the iconic, pulsing synths of Underworld’s “Born Slippy” began to throb through the speakers, the room transformed; what is a club classic to the rest of the world felt here like a non-official national anthem. Hearing the crowd erupt into a unified roar created an unstoppable sense of national identity and collective belonging that was impossible to resist. Even as a non-Scot, I felt the profound beauty of that moment—a reminder of music’s unique power to bridge generations, dissolve boundaries, and awaken a shared memory that belongs to everyone in the room.

When Vida finally took the stage, that nostalgic energy shifted into a raw, guitar-driven euphoria that immediately evoked the golden age of 90s Britpop. The DNA of bands like Oasis and The Verve courses through their sound—from the shimmering “wall of sound” guitars to those soaring, melodic hooks—but Vida are far from a mere tribute act. They distinguish themselves with a blue-collar urgency and a specific brand of Scottish tenacity, taking the psychedelic textures of the 90s and anchoring them with a driving rhythm section that feels firmly rooted in the present day.

On stage, each member commanded the space with a palpable chemistry, led by a frontman whose stage presence felt like a throwback to the swagger of the legends who once stood on this very stage. In a moment of pure fan service that brought the house down, the band seamlessly wove a snippet of an Oasis classic into the bridge of one of their own original tracks. It wasn’t a standalone cover, but a soulful, fleeting interpolation that felt like a respectful nod to their roots rather than a simple imitation.

It was a performance that proved Vida is actively reinventing that legacy for a new generation, leaving the audience with the sense that the spirit of British guitar music is very much alive and screaming.