Brian Wilson plays London

Beach Boys star Brian Wilson has played the 'lost' album 'Smile' for the first time ever in London.

The singer played the first night of a residency at the London Royal Festival Hall yesterday evening (February 20), the first dates on a tour which will visit other cities throughout the UK this month.

The gig itself was split into two sections. The first opened with a fifteen minute acoustic set, followed by a ‘Greatest Hits' show. During this, Wilson, backed by an 18-piece band, performed a number of songs from 'Pet Sounds', including 'God Only Knows' and 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'.

After a short interval Wilson then returned to the stage where 'Smile' was played for the first time in full.

The concept album was originally intended for release in 1967, around the same time The Beatles put out 'Sgt Pepper'. However, Wilson had a breakdown and the album was never finished, giving it almost mythical status amongst fans.

Throughout the performance Wilson appeared in good form, leading the band through songs like 'Heroes And Villains' and 'Vegetables', that saw each member of the group playing multiple instruments in the same song, while making use of more unconventional items such as hammers and saws.

The set ended with a storming run-through 'Good Vibrations', with the audience, who had come from all over the world to see the show, giving the star a lengthy standing ovation.

Lyricist Van Dyke Parks, who worked on the 'Smile' songs with Wilson was also introduced on stage, and he got his own standing ovation.

The tour visits:

London Royal Festival Hall (21-22, 24, 26-27)
Bournemouth Pavilion (March 1)
Bristol Colston Hall (2)
Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (4)
Newcastle City Hall (6)
Liverpool Empire Theatre (7)
Birmingham Symphony Hall (8)document.write(unescape("