Manic Street Preachers Play 150th Teenage Cancer Trust Show at Royal Albert Hall – Full Setlist & Highlights
Manic Street Preachers delivered a powerful and emotional performance for the 150th Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 26 March 2026.
The show, curated by The Cure’s Robert Smith, marked a historic milestone for the legendary fundraising series, which has raised over £36 million since it began in 2000 to support specialist care for young people with cancer.
The Welsh rock icons opened with a soaring ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ and treated the ecstatic crowd to a career-spanning set that mixed fan favourites, major hits, and heartfelt moments.
Setlist Highlights
- Motorcycle Emptiness (opener)
- Futurology
- Roses In The Hospital
- You Stole The Sun From My Heart
- Decline & Fall
- Ocean Spray
- Close To Me (The Cure cover – embraced by Robert Smith fans)
- La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
- This Is Yesterday (from The Holy Bible)
- Hiding In Plain Sight (with Lana McDonagh)
- A Design For Life (dedicated to producer Mike Hedges, who was in the audience)
- Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
- This Is The Day (The The cover)
- My Little Empire & You Love Us (dedicated to Richey Edwards)
- If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next (epic finale)
The band also performed ‘The Secret He Had Missed’, ‘The Everlasting’, ‘Everything Must Go’, ‘From Despair to Where’, ‘This Sullen Welsh Heart’ and more.
The Joy Formidable opened the night with a strong Welsh rock celebration, delivering hits including ‘Whirring’, ‘The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade’, ‘Cradle’, ‘Sevier’, ‘Buoy’, ‘Wolf’s Law’ and ‘The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie’.
Singer Ritzy said: “Thank you for having us. What a special space, sweet audience, big, beautiful acoustics. Forever grateful to Robert for the invite and for everyone at the Teenage Cancer Trust for a magical night.”
The evening was compered by Radio X DJ John Kennedy, who described it as an honour to host for one of his all-time heroes, Robert Smith.
A Landmark for Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust Interim Chief Executive Jules Worrall celebrated the 150-show milestone: “The impact of these shows has been enormous… we have been able to change the lives of young people with cancer for the better. The incredible £36 million raised has allowed us to provide specialist nursing care, expert youth support and age-appropriate environments to thousands of young people with cancer.”
This year’s series (23–29 March 2026) features a stellar line-up curated by Robert Smith, including elbow, Mogwai, my bloody valentine, Garbage, Wolf Alice, and a night of Robert Smith’s Comedy Favourites.
The Manic Street Preachers set was live-streamed via Player Plus, with all profits going directly to Teenage Cancer Trust. Garbage’s headline set on Saturday is also available to purchase at www.WatchTeenageCancerTrust.com.
Good Energy – an art exhibition and limited-edition print series featuring 21 silk screen prints chosen by artists including The 1975, Wolf Alice, Yungblud, Bring Me The Horizon and more – runs at the Royal Albert Hall until 9 April 2026.
FAQs – Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall 2026
When was the 150th Teenage Cancer Trust concert? Thursday 26 March 2026 – headlined by Manic Street Preachers.
Who curated the 2026 Teenage Cancer Trust shows? Robert Smith of The Cure is this year’s guest curator.
How much money has the Royal Albert Hall series raised? Over £36 million since 2000, supporting specialist care for young people with cancer.
What was the Manic Street Preachers setlist highlight? The band opened with ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’, covered The Cure’s ‘Close To Me’, and closed with ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’.
Who opened for Manic Street Preachers? The Joy Formidable.
How can I watch the Manic Street Preachers set? It was live-streamed and available for 24 hours afterwards via Player Plus, with profits to Teenage Cancer Trust.
What is Teenage Cancer Trust? The only UK charity dedicated to providing specialist nursing care, youth support and age-appropriate hospital units for young people with cancer.
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