EXCLUSIVE: Richard Marx is preparing for two landmark performances at the London Palladium, and the musician says the two concerts will be ‘special’ to him
With a career spanning over five decades, Richard Marx still gets excited about performing at new venues. This week, the American singer, 63, will perform two nights at the famous London Palladium.
The concerts will be special for Richard. Despite performing at various venues across the capital, the Palladium is somewhere he’s never graced the stage. Two years have passed since the Right Here Waiting singer last performed in London, and it’s fair to say that the shows this week will be electric.
They come just weeks after Richard wrapped up filming The Voice Australia, on which he’s a coach. And although he’s never seen Niall Horan perform in concert, Richard admits he’s a fan of the singer – and noted the similarities between their performances. “I’ve never played there before,” he said of the Palladium. Speaking to the Mirror, Richard added: “The last time I played there [London], was a couple of years ago, we played the Albert Hall.
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“I’d played there a few times. But there’s something that’s happened over the last, especially the last dozen years. I’ve always had great shows in London but there was just something that kind of clicked over. I can’t explain it, verbally, but the level of love I feel on that stage, wherever I’m playing, particularly the last couple of times.
“I did I think it was four or five nights at the Union Chapel, it was solo acoustic, maybe five years ago – it was incredible.” He went on to add: “When we came back to the Albert Hall, I remember saying that when I came off stage, ‘I think this is my favourite gig of my whole life’. Coming back to play the Palladium is really special because I’ve never played there before, and it’s been two years.”
Fans will be treated to tracks from Richard’s impressive back catalogue, as well as tracks from his 14th studio album, After Hours, which was released earlier this year. “I look forward to it, just like I’m coming to hang out with old friends,” he commented.
During his shows at the Royal Albert Hall, Richard met fans at his meet-and-greet, who told him it was their sixth time seeing him in concert, with some even flying from London to Seattle for previous tours. “It’s just so beautiful and humbling,” he said.
Richard added: “It makes me want to be the best I can possibly be, because these people have been so loyal to me and so devoted to me. When I hear about other artists who sort of walk through their gig, or it’s almost like it’s a job for them, I truly think I have the greatest job in the world.”
However, Richard does acknowledge that parts of his job are “chaotic”, and at times, he thinks “I definitely would trade that in,” but he then sees his fans and remembers why he’s on stage. “Think about this: what I do for a living, when I show up to work, people scream, ‘I love you.’ Tell me another job where that happens,” he explained.
But with 14 albums behind him, Richard says narrowing down his setlist can be tricky. “Especially in America,” he laughed, adding: “But in such an incredibly wonderful way. Which is why sometimes, I don’t play all the singles. I’ve done a few gigs here, where I didn’t do anything but hits.
“But when I was putting that setlist together, I thought ‘Man, I am the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have a setlist like that.’ I know that first of all, I cater to the people who’ve supported me all these years, and I know that they want to hear the hits. I get it, because I’m the same way when I go see um when I go see a band play, if they don’t do most of the material that I know and love, I’m going to be a little bummed out.
“Totally open to hearing something new or different, but don’t dominate the show with that. And so, that makes it a puzzle that’s fun to put together.” Richard says that he often chooses ten or 12 singles, as well as songs he “can’t do.” “I still love playing those songs, I wrote all those songs, I’m very proud of those songs.”
However, he enjoys taking fans on a “journey”, which he builds throughout the show. He went on to explain: “Sometimes it’s driven by if I have a new album out that I’m promoting. If I have a new album out, generally I don’t do more than two songs from that new album, because I think it’s asking too much of the audience.”
Throughout his shows, he often throws in a couple of older songs that “weren’t hits,” but he still loves playing. Speaking of this tour, Richard said: “I do a segment from the new album, and it’s more than two songs, but it’s not a lot of songs, but it’s kind of a built-in thing where, you know, a couple of the songs from the new album are classic songs that have been covered.
“So, I do a couple of the standards from the new album, because the new album, I don’t know if you know, is half standards that I’ve always loved, and half songs I wrote in that vein, so they sound like songs from the ’40s and ’50s. So far, it doesn’t feel like the audience is wandering off. I don’t see people getting up and going to the bathroom.”
Reflecting on Niall Horan’s current Dinner Party Live On Tour, which sees the Mullingar-born singer sitting at a dinner table, playing acoustic tracks, Richard said: “I’ve never seen Niall, but I’m a fan of his. If you’re the kind of performer I am, who talks to the audience a lot, once you build a rapport with that particular audience, they’re in.
“It’s almost like you saying to your friends at a dinner party, ‘Hey, listen, can we pause the Sade station here for a few minutes, because I want to play you a couple of songs I’m really into?’ Of course, your friends are going to go, ‘Yeah, show me! What do you got?’ It’s kind of like the same thing.
“I tell everybody, ‘If you come to see me live, I’m very proud of the music that we play.” Richard went on to explain that his band is “incredible” and he’s beyond proud of their work on stage.
He commented: “I never think about the musical performances when I walk on stage. The show is what happens in between the songs. When I’m planning a show, when I’m getting geared up backstage, I’m not thinking about hitting the note on that song or the arrangement. I’m thinking ‘How do I explain this song that’s not boring?’ I’m always coming up with funny things to say – but those things just happen. Especially if I can hear the audience. If somebody’s taking the p**s, I love it because then I can play off that. It’s just a big free-for-all and the greatest compliment I get is people who say ‘We saw you and we felt like we knew you, we felt like we were hanging out with you,’ which is great, that’s what I want.”
Richard Marx plays the London Palladium on 6 and 7 October 2026. Tickets are on sale now via LW Theatres.
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