Olly Murs performing his All The Hits Tour at the FlyDSA Arena Sheffield on Friday 24th May 2019



Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Olly Murs, the 2009 X Factor runner up and The Voice judge had the crowd of all ages up on their feet from the very first beat when he emerged from within the seats, taking everyone by surprise at the FlyDSA Arena last night.

Dressed in the nerdy attire similar to that which he wears in the video for Moves, his 2018 collaboration with Snoop Dog, this endearing and cheeky chappie began with just that before he weaved into Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You.

Feel The Same introduced his very energetic three piece brass section who never stayed still for a second before popular songs such as Kiss Me and a powerful and emotional You Don’t Know Love soon followed which saw bursts of flames heat up what was already a sweltering Arena.

Delivering a thoroughly upbeat show from start to finish, Murs, the consummate showman darted across the stage, dancing, laughing and joking with the audience and his band. Reminiscing about his tours with One Direction and Robbie Williams, he entertained with snippets of What Makes You Beautiful and Louis Prima’s I Wanna Be Like You.

Coming to the front of the stage with his three talented backing singers, there was an entertaining version of Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me which saw the whole crowd belting the chorus back at them.

Most of the audience has undoubtedly shared his ten year journey and those youngsters seeing him for the first time will be impressed with his natural showmanship, and his ability to chat with the crowd between songs. Announcing that he had won Rear Of The Year in 2014, he seemed as proud of that as he was of his version of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, with which he had begun his X Factor journey.

With this born entertainer showing off his superb dance moves together with the brilliant lighting and special effects, there was a more serious moment when he reflected on his own battles with mental health issues at the height of his fame, and urged others who may be struggling to speak to someone rather than bottle it up, before singing the self penned Talking To Myself which saw the Arena swathed in mobile phone torches.

With a fair bit of gyrating and crotch grabbing and a hilarious response to a comment once made about his potential lack of longevity in this business, Murs, with his infectious enthusiasm whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

At times the energy level dropped a little but this was due in the main to the amount of between song talking that Murs engaged in but he brought them right back up with the highly danceable modern pop classics such as Heart Skips A Beat, Dear Darlin’, Troublemaker and set closer, Wrapped Up.

With screams for an encore, Murs did not disappoint as he saved Dance With Me Tonight for the end, which had everyone on their feet in appreciation. Olly Murs has clearly come a long way since those early X Factor days and whilst his music isn’t life changing and his vocals aren’t the strongest, his genuine likeability has ensured that he has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so.

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