LIVE: JAMES BLUNT (Royal Albert Hall, London)
Verdict: Playful but uplifting
When his breakthrough single You’re Beautiful pipped Crazy Frog, Mr Blobby — and The Birdie Song — to be voted the most irritating song of all time, the chances of James Blunt carving out a successful, two-decade career at the forefront of modern pop seemed slim.
Yet here he is, 20 years on from debut album Back To Bedlam, selling out two nights at the Royal Albert Hall.
The 50-year-old is a skilful singer-songwriter, and his most recent album, Who We Used To Be, saw him laying bare some brutally honest emotions on a set of typically anguished ballads and mid-tempo pop melodies.
James Blunt, 20 years on from debut album Back To Bedlam, sold out two nights at the Royal Albert Hall
The 50-year-old is a skilful singer-songwriter, and his most recent album, Who We Used To Be, saw him laying bare some brutally honest emotions
Blunt’s breakthrough single You’re Beautiful pipped Crazy Frog, Mr Blobby — and The Birdie Song
But he has endured — as much for his ability to make jokes at his own expense as for his songwriting — and he was at it again this week.
‘I’ve got some new jeans and sparkling new shoes, but the same old band,’ he said. ‘Once they’ve worked with me, nobody else will work with them.’
He went on to tell fans that he wouldn’t be playing any familiar tunes, but would focus instead on new material.
‘But that’s alright… because I’ve already got your money,’ he quipped.
Luckily, he was not entirely truthful on that front, and what followed was a well-judged balance of tracks from Who We Used To Be and more familiar numbers.
Staged with that trusted four-piece group and all the whistles and bells of an arena spectacular, the night started slowly but gained momentum.
By the second half, with Blunt sprinting energetically from the stage to the back of the hall, decorum had left the building.
During High, from his debut album (‘the one you all bought’), he conducted an expertly-orchestrated Mexican wave. I Won’t Die With You, from his current album, was surprisingly funky, adorned with synthesised brass.
He often makes jokes at the expense of his own song writing and was at it again on April 9
Staged with that trusted four-piece group and all the whistles and bells of an arena spectacular, the night started slowly but gained momentum
By the second half, with Blunt sprinting energetically from the stage to the back of the hall, decorum had left the building
During High, from his debut album (‘the one you all bought’), he conducted an expertly-orchestrated Mexican wave
There was a lively cover of Slade’s Coz I Luv You and an energetic take on OK, the 2017 single he made with German DJ Robin Schulz.
There were quieter moments, too. Monsters, introduced as ‘a miserable song’, dug deep into the bond he has with his elderly father.
Dark Thought, played solo at the piano on a darkened stage, was dedicated to his former landlady Carrie Fisher.
He lodged with the late Star Wars actress as he was making Back To Bedlam in LA, and shared an anecdote about writing Goodbye My Lover and You’re Beautiful in her bathroom.
Blunt enjoys a comfortable level of success these days. He’s not a global superstar — although this tour will take him to Europe this summer and Australia and South Africa in the autumn — but it was hard not to be impressed by the singalong sense of community that engulfed the famous old hall.
This was a playful yet uplifting night that would have confounded Blunt’s detractors, himself included.
James Blunt’s UK tour continues at AO Arena, Manchester, tonight [April 12] (ticketmaster.co.uk).
