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I wouldn’t call myself the biggest Olly Murs fan, but his inoffensive brand of cheeky chappy pop music is fine by me.
So, when asked to go along and see the X Factor singer at his Dreamland in Margate, I thought, why not? It’ll be a decent night out if nothing else.
And that’s exactly what we got; a good night out at one of Kent’s most Instagrammable venues with some familiar tunes and a fun vibe.
It all started with an opening set from pop rock band Scouting For Girls.
The London-based four-piece did a great job of warming up the crowd, getting everyone singing, dancing and waving to the camera.
They played a handful of songs I remember from my own teen years and I found myself happily singing along with everyone else to numbers such as She’s So Lovely, This Ain't a Love Song and Heartbeat.
The crowd, which was the biggest one I’ve seen at the open-air seaside venue so far this summer, dispersed only to grab another drink from the bar or join the lengthy queue for the toilets before the main man came on stage.
Olly Murs first rose to fame when he came second on the sixth series of the X Factor in 2009 and has since hosted shows such as the Xtra Factor and is now a judge on The Voice.
However, it’s his showmanship, charisma and happy-go-lucky charm that has kept his music career going for 14 years and, as the lights went down and he appeared at the back of the stage posing in an all-white suit against a striking white background, he made it clear he hasn’t lost any of those qualities.
Having released his latest studio album Marry Me last year and recently celebrated his own wedding to partner Amelia Tank, this latest tour is wedding-themed - hence the suit.
The gig opened with the new album’s titled track as Olly strutted down the steps and greeted his screeching fans, many of which, funnily enough, did mirror the volume of a drunk aunt at a wedding. Perhaps that’s where the inspiration for his latest album began.
He played some of his most well-known hits including Kiss Me Like You Mean It (mixed with a verse or two of Harry Styles’ Watermelon Sugar), Heart Skips a Beat and Dear Darlin’.
One of the biggest reactions of the night, however, came from a touching tribute to Olly’s friend and Xtra Factor co-host Caroline Flack with a renditition of Sweet Caroline.
That wasn’t the only cover of the night; in fact, I did actually wonder at one point if I was watching a function band at a wedding as Olly Murs insisted that no nuptuals are complete without some classic wedding bangers.
This then led to a medley of songs including Don’t Stop Believin’, Celebration, I Want It That Way and, of course, the YMCA.
Cheesy? Yes. But also quite a lot of fun and a fool-proof way to get those drunk aunts on the dancefloor? Absolutely.
There’s no denying, the singer knows his audience and plays up to them with sing-along tunes, flamboyant dance moves and a very likeable sense of humour. Oh, and by undoing a couple of buttons on his shirt towards the end of the night.
He ended the evening with arguably his two biggest hits, Dance With Me Tonight and Troublemaker, to a wave of cheers and applause.
The singer skipped off the stage with a smile on his face, and the crowd of fans leaving the venue were all smiling too.
What more could you ask from an all-round crowd-pleaser like Olly Murs?