It’s inadvisable to project too much on to a hit single. But when cultural historians come to soundbite the post-pandemic moment, the montage on the privatised Channel 4 show will inevitably be soundtracked by As It Was, the No 1 single by Harry Styles. Currently in its seventh week at the top, As It Was ponders Styles’s love life, recognising how situations can change.
But the song’s success owes much to the way Styles pithily nails the gulf between the before times and now. “You know it’s not the same as it was!” Styles sings, joined on backing vocals by 5,000 very partisan observers at this small – for Styles – London show, a few days after the release of his third solo album, Harry’s House. The gig’s billing as “One Night Only” isn’t quite true. He performed last week in New York and will be touring the UK shortly.
