Professor Elemental Live

It’s always a treat when a local pioneer plays a hometown gig, and next month we get the chance to see the return of Professor Elemental. For those unfamiliar, he is Paul Alborough, a long-time Brighton resident who is widely credited with pioneering the 'chap-hop' genre. This unique style fuses traditional hip-hop rhythms with a distinct Edwardian and steampunk aesthetic.

Professor Elemental is scheduled to play right here in town on Friday, February 20, 2026, at the classic Brighton spot, The Prince Albert on Trafalgar Street. His persona is that of an eccentric inventor—a British gentleman in a safari suit, complete with a pith helmet and monóculo. This colonial attire serves as a parody of the British class system, which is central to his act. If you’ve never caught his show, it’s much more than just music; it’s often described as a hilarious stand-up routine mixed with rap, full of witty satire and clever audience participation. His performances are known for their high energy, sometimes involving props like an inflatable horse head or encouraging the crowd to bounce an inflatable unicorn. This unique approach helped him gain fame with his viral track 'A Cup of Brown Joy' and previously earned him the Best Musical Act award at the Brighton Fringe festival.

He has certainly kept busy recently, releasing the album The Good Dad Club in 2021, which focused on themes of fatherhood and middle age, and more recently, Summer Daze in July 2025, which even features a track titled 'Brighton'. If you’re planning to go, tickets are currently available for purchase, listed around £13.80 including the booking fee. The show is happening at The Prince Albert, and while some listings suggest an 8:00 PM start, others indicate 8:30 PM, so it might be worth checking the venue closer to the date. Given the satirical and stand-up nature of his show, the audience tends to be adults or young adults interested in alternative hip-hop, comedy, or steampunk culture. It’s a chance to see one of Brighton’s most unique performers doing what he does best right in his own backyard.