Olly Murs review: ‘The Perfect Showman’

Arriving on the stage through a trapdoor as if he were WWE superstar Cody Rhodes, the 40-year-old exploded into a rendition of the ultra-catchy hit ‘Troublemaker’, sparking a joyous singalong, and from that moment, it set the tone for a performance that was visually impressive, well-executed and audience-friendly from one of music’s most gifted showmen.

Murs exudes personality; he’s an unpredictable, fun-loving and larger-than-life character that yields a flamethrower and makes numerous comedic quips, including that “he’s no longer huggable” and that “he’s going nowhere”, but also has the ability to strike a natural connection with candour. He may well be the perfect showman.

Throughout the evening, he reflected on his journey from X-Factor to becoming a father twice, and his scaled-back rendition of ‘Dear Darlin’, accompanied by just his pianist Sean Barry, provided the most poignant moment of the evening and a layer of emotional depth that struck a chord with the 20,000+ in attendance.

However, the focus wasn’t exclusively on Murs. Following a performance of the heartfelt ‘Army of Two’, fuelled by a bright guitar and driving drums. A rendition of ‘Hand on Heart’ alongside two of his three backing singers, Jon and Darren, followed in a performance that left the audience mesmerised before the singer’s third backing singer, Katie, performed Demi Lovato’s verses in a duet of ‘Up’ that was nothing short of flawless.

A medley of ‘Die of a Broken Heart’, the 70s-esque ‘Dancing on Cars’, ‘I Hate When You’re Drunk’, and the high-energy ‘I Found Her’ followed and served as a shot of adrenaline to the bloodstream before a rendition of ‘You Don’t Know Love’ laden with duelling bright guitar solos and a punchy drum line. As an artist, Murs wears his influences on his sleeves and perform a selection of 80s covers in a fun medley that included snippets of Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, Wham’s ‘I’m Your Man’, Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’, George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’, The Proclaimers’ ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’, Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, and The Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m So Excited’, with Murs climbing into the crowd to perform amongst his devoted army of fans.

As the night came to a close, a performance of ‘Never Been Better’ accompanied by an exquisite brass section and balls of pyro filling the sky set the stage for an enthralling rendition of ‘My Heart Skips A Beat’, which remains as infectious as ever, as does the upbeat ‘Wrapped Up’. Although Murs’ latest tour is a celebration of the singer’s longevity and success to date, he provided the audience with a taste of what to expect in the future with a performance of ‘Save Me’ that sounds Madness-esque before ‘Dance With Me Tonight’ closed out the night in fine fashion.