Slane Castle preview: Harry Styles is set to deliver a state-of-the-art pop extravaganza – featuring special guests Wet Leg and Inhaler

When Harry Styles exited One Direction and launched his solo career in 2017 with his self-titled debut album, could he truly have imagined what spectacular success he would enjoy? During a six-year imperial phase, the Cheshire native has become one of the defining pop culture icons of the age, with sellout tours, global mega-hits and a burgeoning movie career to accompany the blockbuster albums.

That’s before you even consider his status as a fashion trendsetter, or the hyper-devoted fanbase fascinated by his every performance and public appearance, all of which are forensically detailed by a grateful entertainment media. When referencing his age at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Joe Biden even quipped that “I look like Harry Styles”.

The 29-year-old hits Slane following a triumphant performance at Dublin’s Aviva last summer, shortly after he’d released his third and most recent album, Harry’s House. Even by Styles’ lofty standards, the commercial achievements of the LP – creatively inspired by Japan’s city-pop genre of the ’70s – are staggering. The record attained serious altitude right from the off, with the lead single, synth-pop anthem ‘As It Was’, breaking records at a pace that even Lionel Messi or Erling Haaland might struggle to match.

An international smash that topped the charts in numerous countries including Ireland, the song was particularly successful in the US. Its Stateside feats include topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks; becoming the longest running US number one by a UK act; and the fourth-longest number one in the chart’s history. Like Robbie Willliams and Justin Timberlake before him, Styles is also adroit enough to keep the critics interested, with the new wave and electro flourishes of ‘As It Was’ attracting comparisons to the likes of Depeche Mode, A-ha and The Weeknd.

The landmark moments kept coming, with ‘As It Was’ quickly joined in the US charts by the Harry’s House tracks ‘Late Night Talking’, ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’ and ‘Matilda’. It was the first time a British act had enjoyed four simultaneous Billboard Top 10 hits since The Beatles in 1964. With ‘As It Was’ ending 2022 as the biggest song of the year globally, the all-conquering campaign for Harry’s House was complete earlier this year, when it scooped Album of the Year at both the Grammys and the Brits.

The LP was recorded between the UK and US, with studios utilised including Peter Gabriel’s Real World in Bath and Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La in Malibu. Speaking to Apple Music around the time of the album’s release a year ago, Styles expounded further on its creation.

“I was kind of like, ‘It’d be really fun to make an album called Harry’s House’, and thought about it being this smaller thing,” he reflected. “Then it was back to, ‘Maybe that’s an album I’ll make in four or five years.’ And as I started making the album, I realised it wasn’t about the geographical location. It’s much more of an internal thing.”

In the same interview, Styles also spoke of his admiration of Billie Eilish.

“I think being in the band, I’d always felt like we were really young,” he said. “And seeing Billie do this at such a young age, I felt like, ‘I’m not that young anymore.’ And for a while it was, how do you play that game of remaining exciting?”

The singer added that Eilish “broke the spell” of his tendency to overanalyse.

“It’s so unbelievably liberating to go, ‘I just want to make good music.’ That’s it, that’s what I want to do. Everything else is what it will be, and that’s kind of it.”

Over the past year, the star has also talked about his experience of therapy, saying it allowed him to “open up rooms in himself” and overcome his tendency to “emotionally coast”.

“I think that accepting living, being happy, hurting in the extremes, that is the most alive you can be,” he told one interviewer. “Losing it crying, losing it laughing – there’s no way, I don’t think, to feel more alive than that.”

More frivolously, Styles has also had to negotiate his way though the gossip-industrial complex. Having made a solid big screen debut in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed war drama Dunkirk, there followed a more testing experience filming Don’t Worry Darling.

Acres of coverage were devoted to the supposed psycho-drama between the movie’s director, Styles’ then girlfriend Olivia Wilde, and the two leads, Styles himself and English actress Florence Pugh (Styles was drafted in to replace Shia LaBeouf, who departed the film in disputed circumstances). Despite – or perhaps because of – the controversy, Don’t Worry Darling proved a box office hit last year, with Styles once again shown to be the man with the Midas touch.

Styles’ love life has virtually become a separate field within showbiz reporting, with the latest speculation being that, following a split with Wilde, he has now taken up with supermodel and actress Emily Ratajkowski. Naturally, it’s all been too much for The Daily Mail to resist, with the paper describing a recent “steamy make-out session” between Styles and Ratajkowski in Tokyo.

Lest anyone get too carried away, however, an “insider” subsequently told Entertainment Tonight that the pair are simply “having fun together”. Whatever Styles’ current relationship status, he has acknowledged that possible fan backlash is something he has to take into account when considering potential partners.

“Can you imagine,” he told Rolling Stone, “going on a second date with someone and being like, ‘Okay, there’s a corner of this thing, and they’re going to say this, and it’s going to be really crazy, and they’re going to be really mean, and it’s not real… But anyway, what do you want to eat?’”

Other than the reports about Styles and Ratajkowski, of late there’s been the usual steady stream of coverage. There have been headlines about the singer’s appearance alongside the likes of Adele and Tom Cruise on the final episode of James Corden’s talk-show, as well as his fist-bump with a fan who subsequently fainted.

In terms of what fans can expect in Slane, Styles is pulling out all the stops for the Love On Tour excursion, which was originally planned to support his second album, 2019’s Fine Line, and has now been extended to take in Harry’s House. The Meath concert comes in the middle of a major European stadium tour, with support at all shows coming from indie-pop queens Wet Leg, who’ll again be opening in Slane along with homegrown heroes Inhaler.

In what will be the first Slane show since Metallica headlined four years ago, Styles is set to deliver a state-of-the-art pop extravaganza, with hits from all stages of his career, and maybe even a One Direction tune for good measure.

Speaking to Apple Music last year, Styles emphasised his love of live performance.

“The crowd is so emotionally generous that they want me to have a good time, and I can feel that,” he enthused. “Doing shows is my favourite thing to do in the world.”

Harry lands at Slane with two big-name support acts...

Inhaler
Fresh from the release of their chart-topping second album, Cuts & Bruises, the indie-pop heroes and former Hot Press cover stars will be bringing some brilliant Irish representation to the 2023 Slane line-up. Since their 2021 debut album, It Won’t Always Be Like This, debuted at No.1 on both sides of the Irish Sea, the band have continued to bring their “alternative pop” sound (a label bestowed upon them by Sam Fender) from Dublin to the global stage. Harry’s not the only major support slot on their calendars, either – before the year is out, they’ll also join Pearl Jam on a U.S. tour, and support Sam Fender at his highly anticipated Newcastle stadium show.

Inhaler. Credit Miguel Ruiz.

Wet Leg
After making their mark at this year’s Grammys – taking home the awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance – the Isle of Wight indie-rockers are back on the road with Harry, as they continue to support him on his Love On Tour. Their irresistibly tongue-in-cheek debut single, 2021’s ‘Chaise Longue’, immediately marked the duo as ones-to-watch, with Harry going on to cover the track for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. Wet Leg’s chart-topping self-titled debut LP, released last year, further cemented their status as one of this generation’s most compelling new acts. Earlier this year, Ireland’s own CMAT opened for the band at a Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall.

Wet Leg. Credit: Hollie Fernando

Harry Styles – and special guests Inhaler and Wet Leg – play Slane on June 10.

Read the full June Gig Special – presented in association with MCD – in the current issue of Hot Press: