The cheeky chappy from Essex received a very warm welcome as he returned to Belfast as part of his All The Hits tour. It just so happened that Olly was also celebrating his birthday in the city that evening too…
He opened proceedings with ‘Moves’, the lead single from his latest album and while Snoop Dogg didn’t make an appearance (we didn’t really need him to, to be fair), Olly quickly surprised the crowd by appearing in the middle of them. When he finally managed to make his way through the fans and onto the stage, he continued to keep everyone on their feet with the hits ‘Feel The Same’, ‘You Don’t Know Love’ and a rather – let’s just say, sensual – performance of ‘Kiss Me’.
People had come for a good night out and that was exactly what they were getting. It was clear to see the audience (and Olly) were enjoying every moment of the show. Wherever you looked people were dancing and singing along and just having a great time. There was a happy buzz in the air. However, it’s a little hard to believe that this tour was signifying a decade at the top of the charts for Olly. I can still vividly remember watching his first audition for The X Factor (Stevie Wonder’s Superstition), so I was surprised when the footage flashed up on the screens mid-concert and Olly confirmed it had indeed been 10 years since he appeared on the talent show.
With the stark reminder that I am much older than I realise, the trip down memory lane continued with a medley including ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ (from his former X Factor finalists One Direction) and ‘I Wan’na Be Like You’ (a cover of Louis Prima’s song that Olly recorded with Robbie Williams back in 2013).
For the rest of the gig, the crowd stayed in a dancing mood as Olly belted out hit after hit, including ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’, ‘Heart Skips A Beat’, ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘Wrapped Up’.
This only left the encore and I have to admit, the show did finish on a slightly surreal, albeit amusing, note when Olly re-emerged on stage dressed as Elvis Presley to sing ‘Dance With Me Tonight’. Apparently, the band thought getting the star to dress up was the perfect way to celebrate his birthday, but flexing his vocal chords and imitating the King of Rock’n’Roll’s snarling lips and swivelling hips to perfection, the performance went down a storm with the audience. Uh-huh-huh.
Former X Factor finalists Rak-Su were the support act for Olly’s tour. Olly Murs performed at Belfast’s SSE Arena on Tuesday 14 May, 2019.