Baby Dave Takes the Quiet Route to a Sold-Out London Show

The tour dates appeared on Instagram roughly two weeks before the first night. No long lead-in, no rolling campaign of clips and stories. So when Baby Dave, the solo project of Soft Play’s Isaac Holman, opened his tour at Oslo in Hackney on a Sunday, the room held 400 people and knew every line.

That mismatch is the story. Baby Dave began during the pandemic, when Soft Play, then still performing as Slaves, were on hiatus and Holman was unsure the band would tour again. He has spoken openly about mental health and about the strain of life inside a major touring act. The project, by his own account, functions closer to a hobby and a form of therapy than a career move, and he has been consistent about putting privacy ahead of promotion. Few artists would run a tour this way. Fewer still would sell out the opening night doing it.

The set draws on ‘Billy’, his latest record, named for a companion he found during a period he describes plainly as his life falling apart. The songs carry that weight without labouring it, and the crowd’s recall suggests the material has travelled further than its promotion would imply.

Holman is under no illusions about repeating the night. Asked about the next date, he notes that Birmingham has sold fewer tickets, and that he expects to be humbled. Tunbridge Wells, where he grew up, and Brighton, where he lives, were both in the room tonight. Birmingham will not be.