Olly Murs

4.27 - The Motorpoint Arena

Nottingham, UK

Claire H. Insomnia Photographer

Live Review

As part of his Marry Me UK arena tour, pop sensation and cheeky-chap Olly Murs made a stop off at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena to rip a blinding show for thousands of adoring fans. Accompanying him on this tour, are Scouting For Girls who are responsible for warming up the female dominated audience each night.

With six studio albums under their belt spanning a career just short of twenty years, it’s a real mystery as to why the profound rock trio were opening for Murs on this run. From the almost deafening shrieks as Roy Stride and co strolled onto the arena stage; accompanied by a fanfare intro blasting through the PA system, it all suddenly makes sense. Launching into 2007 smash single ‘Heartbeat’, the audience immediately leapt onto their feet and enjoyed the first bout of call and response from their seven song set. Highlights of their set include popular singles: ‘Famous’, ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’ and slower number, ‘This Ain’t a Love Song’ which saw the arena completely lit up with mobile phone torches. Closing their set with none other than 'She’s So Lovely', which got the entire arena dancing and losing all inhibitions. Despite the short set, Scouting For Girls successfully crammed their performance with punchy tunes, crowd participation in abundance and buckets of charisma that only left the crowd with smiles on faces and warmed up vocal cords.

Setlist:

Heartbeat
Famous
This Ain’t a Love Song
Millionaire
Posh Girls
Elvis Ain’t Dead / Can’t Help Falling in Love
She’s So Lovely

A drop of a black curtain reveals the silhouette of Murs stood with his back to the audience, mimicking that of a groom stood at the alter as emphasised by appropriate wedding-esque instrumentals. Turning round, his accompanying live band launch into ‘Marry Me’ which transcended the arena; flooded with wedding veils, into a frenzy. Making a first appearance on the extravagant stage’s runway, Murs scoops up a bouquet of roses that were already situated on the stage and tosses them into the crowd - making the perfect memento for one lucky fan.

‘You Don’t Know Love’, the first single taken from his fifth studio album, is played early into the show and offers a relaxed pace sing-along as Olly parades around the stage with his microphone stand in tow. Known for his bright personality and onstage charisma, even his slower songs showcase his witty charm. Addressing the audience for the first time, Murs welcomes fans to the Marry Me tour, appropriately named after his fiancée Amelia Tank who are soon to be wed. Met with thousands of boo’s from broken-hearted fans, Murs jokingly laughs it off and claims that no-one in the arena had snapped him up beforehand.

Moving on with the show, Olly blasts through hit singles ‘Thinking of Me’, ‘Dear Darlin’’, and ‘Heart Skips a Beat’. Having crafted a career of over fourteen years, Murs wasn’t short on song choices for the setlist and even chucked in some covers for good measure. A standout cover included a slowed down version of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’, which was dedicated to fellow TV Presenter and late close friend, Caroline Flack. The performance saw Murs at his rawest during the evening, addressing the importance of checking in on your friends.

Rounding off the show were Murs classics, ‘Dance With Me Tonight’ and closing number ‘Troublemaker’. Not before offering a full Wedding medley of covers of course! All in all, in his first full tour in years, Olly Murs delivered a spellbinding performance that exceeded all expectations. He is undoubtedly a master of his craft with a solid fanbase backing his every move. Sure, the amount of covers included in the show may have been a little overkill, but it was an evening filled with infectious energy and feel good pop.

Setlist: