The wait is over. After years of silence, Shame, one of the most thrilling and unrelenting bands to come out of London’s vibrant post-punk scene, is making their long-anticipated return to Türkiye. On Sunday 26 October Blind Istanbul will host a night that promises to shake the very foundations of the city’s live music scene. Raw, emotional, and unpredictable, this one-night-only performance is set to be a visceral experience, where no boundary remains unchallenged and no emotion is left untouched. Tickets are available on Passo.
From the very beginning, Shame have been a force of nature. With their groundbreaking 2018 debut album Songs of Praise, they ripped through the indie and punk circuits with unapologetic force. Songs like “Concrete”, a relentless call-and-response reflection on social anxiety and masculinity, and “One Rizla”, a vulnerable and anthemic confession of insecurity and identity, catapulted the band into international attention. Tracks such as “Tasteless” and “Dust on Trial” further emphasized their knack for balancing cathartic aggression with sharp lyrical depth. These aren’t just songs—they’re outbursts of truth, wrapped in the grit and grime of British post-punk’s new wave.
Then came Drunk Tank Pink in 2021—a daring, jagged detour into the surreal inner workings of the mind. Where their debut pointed outward, this album turned inward. Tracks like “Alphabet” and “Born in Luton” pulsate with existential confusion and urgency, while “Nigel Hitter” and “March Day” bend and twist under the weight of routine, identity crises, and claustrophobic introspection. The album is a portrait of life under pressure—a pandemic-era reflection turned sonic storm.
But it’s with Food for Worms (2023) that Shame has solidified their place not only as post-punk torchbearers, but as storytellers of the modern human condition. The band calls this their “most alive” record yet. Thematically rich and musically expansive, it’s an album that looks outward while still carrying the scars of everything that came before. The opening track, “Fingers of Steel”, is a blazing anthem of frustration and loyalty, merging heavy riffs with almost hymn-like sincerity. “Adderall” is a stunningly nuanced slow burn, offering a quiet moment of introspection amidst the chaos, while “Six-Pack” and “Burning by Design” explode with fevered urgency. “Orchid”, with its melancholic tones and stripped proof that Shame can cut just as deep with silence as they can with noise.
The production, handled by the legendary Flood, known for his work with Nick Cave, U2, and Foals, brings every note to life with raw fidelity. Every track was recorded live in the studio—no safety nets, no auto-tune, no polish. Just pure, untamed spirit. What you’ll witness at Blind Istanbul is the closest thing to standing inside the studio with them: loud, loose, and completely alive.
At the center of it all is Charlie Steen, a frontman unlike any other in modern music. Shirtless, sweating, and unfiltered, he leads each performance like a sermon of emotional chaos. He doesn’t just sing the songs—he writhes, howls, and collapses into them, offering himself up completely to the crowd. Each Shame show is a surrender to something bigger than music. It’s not choreography. It’s not performance. It’s release.
And let’s not forget the rest of the band, whose chemistry ignites the room. Guitarists Sean Coyle-Smith and Eddie Green craft tangled sonic landscapes, full of dissonant beauty and rage. Josh Finerty, known for his hyperactive, leaping presence on bass, is a spectacle in himself. And Charlie Forbes on drums—solid, chaotic, perfectly unpredictable—holds it all together while simultaneously pushing it toward collapse. Together, they are a live-wire collective, where anything can happen and usually does.
This is not just another gig in Istanbul. It’s a reckoning, a return, a release. Whether you’ve been screaming the lyrics to “Concrete” since 2018 or just discovered the aching brilliance of “Fingers of Steel,” this night is for you. It’s for anyone who has ever felt too much and needed to shout it out in a room full of strangers.
Tickets are available via Passo.
Asmalı Mescit, Şehbender Sk. no:3, 34430 Beyoğlu
