John Newman brought a huge slice of Northern Soul to the O2 Arena on Good Friday as he supported Ellie Goulding on the final night of her European Tour.
There were people there for whom the chance to see John perform live, added to the attraction of Ellie, was too much to resist. This is the second time I have see John perform, having last seen him on the same bill as Ellie supporting Taylor Swift at Hyde Park. He never fails to impress, whipping up the crowd into a frenzy with his high octane set. It’s almost impossible to not be carried away as John barely takes time for a breather or a quick gulp of water before he’s into the next crowd-pleasing song.
From the moment John Newman took to the stage, opening to the strains of ‘Revolve’ from his new album, he strutted and danced his way around the stage. He is almost impossible to photograph, such is his speed of movement. He selected tracks from both of his albums, ‘Tribute’, and ‘Revolve’, and sweated his way around stage with boundless energy. As he sung ‘Come And Get It’, ‘Cheating’, crowd pleaser, ‘Love Me Again’, and Rudimental collaboration, ‘Not Giving In’, the crowd sang and danced along. His band get involved as well with his two scarlet sequin adorned backing singers helping to whip the crowd up as the three piece brass section swing their instruments around in perfect time.
There was a moment that John slowed things down as he sang ‘I’m Not Your Man’, after telling the O2 crowd how much more it meant to him now that when he originally wrote it. This was a rare slow down in a performance from a man who never fails to deliver and was worth the ticket price on his own. Ellie wanted someone to get the crowd in a party mood and it shows her confidence that she picked someone that, for a lot of other singers, would have stolen the show. I can’t wait to see John again in a full set soon. This guy is an outstanding talent and so much more than support.
