Never having seen Olly Murs live, I went to the BIC with a mixture of curiosity and wondering what sort of show it would be.
However, once I saw the packed out BIC and the crowd chanting for him pre-show, my doubts were swept aside by the atmosphere created in the build-up and can openly say I am now a convert to the Olly style of cheeky-chappy arena entertainment.
Prior to his performance we were dazzled by the sheer quality of Scouting for Girls, who were introduced on stage by the spotlights roaming the crowd in the build-up.
Although not a normal full concert set, the seven songs shoehorned into the time available were all upbeat crowd-pleasers, culminating with the classic ‘She’s so Lovely’. Roy Stride, the charismatic Scouting frontman, even burst into ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ in the middle of another song, which whipped the crowd up even more.
It never fails to amaze me how the youngsters can know and sing these old songs word-perfect, with such gusto.
The rapport with the fans was evident, Roy even informing us we were the fifth member of SFG!
The set was filled with call and response, with the audience showing just how loud they can sing.
An encore would undoubtedly have been demanded if they were headlining elsewhere, but sadly time precluded it.
Olly appeared promptly at 8.45pm wearing a white suit, standing back to the audience, in front of an altar.
He launched straight into ‘Marry Me’, the title and theme of the tour, sending the crowd wild and even throwing a bouquet over his shoulder at the end. Not sure who the lucky person was that caught it, but a great souvenir if not a marriage obligation!
Olly is a born performer and entertainer, constantly moving and dancing throughout the whole show.
The questions I was asking myself about exactly who his target audience are were answered very quickly……everyone.
There were young children with their mothers, right up to more elderly folk all enjoying the show and clapping along to everything. It simply proves that if you sing memorable melodic songs the audience will come.
The part of the show that gets very emotional and intense is when he talks about his good friend Caroline Flack and her tragic passing, which very obviously still affects him.
It was a truly mesmerising few minutes to see the audience choking up as he spoke and in return helping Olly through ‘Sweet Caroline’, which was a real struggle for him and yet a highpoint of the evening when the audience and performer become one entity.
After the intensity of that moment, the party atmosphere started again with ‘Celebration’, ‘YMCA’, Blame It On The Boogie’, Sex on Fire and many other singalong classics segued together, ending up with Lionel Richie’s ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’.
This was (as he said) his forthcoming wedding playlist!
A masterclass of how to get the audience dancing and just enjoying the evening together.
He sang 17 songs, all with wonderful melodies intertwined with the instrumental solos played by his beautifully attired band, all ready for a wedding right down to their floral buttonholes!
The final song of the main set was ‘Dance with me Tonight’ which took the crowd to even greater heights, with the well-earned encore providing one final pleaser with ‘Troublemaker’.
Olly Murs has proved he is a consummate entertainer and certainly made me realise there is far more to him that the TV image we see.
He comes across as a truly genuinely nice guy and I for one will be at the next show, leaving this one just as euphoric as the rest of the crowd!
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