Now to tell you the truth, I’m not the girliest of girls and I’ve never quite understood the appeal of Peter Andre. Don’t get me wrong, I have always liked him as a person – not that I am actually lucky enough to know him personally – but I have always admired the way he appears to be a genuinely lovely and decent guy, arguably rare traits in celebrities these days.
So when my flatmate received two tickets for Peter Andre’s Up Close and Personal Tour as a Christmas present from her wonderful boyfriend, I was more than happy to go – I mean as a student who’s stupid enough to turn down any sort of freebie?! However, I admit that I really didn’t have high expectations. Nonetheless, as a concert virgin I was still very excited to finally be going to a real concert (although my boyfriend reassures me this was still not quite a ‘real’ concert!)
As the date came closer, I began to worry that people (the real fans) might recognise a ‘fake’ fan like me! But, I needn’t have worried, as within a week, Peter Andre’s number one stalker (erm I mean number one fan), my flatmate had filled me in on all-things-Andre. By the time of the concert, I had learnt all about Peter’s family, like how his brothers came on tour with him and how one brother even plays the guitar on one song; she’d even filled me in on what to expect at the concert – from what songs he would sing to what outfits he would wear. Oh, and most importantly she’d warned me of his current beautiful girlfriend, who I was told we’re not supposed to like since she is distracting Pete from falling in love with his real one true love – my flatmate. Moreover, with a little help from Spotify, I was even beginning to recognise some of his songs and even learnt the words to a couple of choruses! However, we did use my flatmate’s boyfriends’ Spotify account to do this, so what we didn’t realise is while we were innocently playing Peter’s albums and songs over and over again, the whole of Facebook could see how her ‘boyfriend’ was listening to Peter Andre – over and over again! An innocent mistake he was not too impressed with.
The date of the concert finally arrived, but as I stood shivering in the freezing cold snow queuing outside the 02 Arena for two hours, I did begin to wonder whether this was all going to be worth it. But, leaving four hours later, after having watched Peter just three rows from the front, it was more than worth it!
The hour before Peter came on was filled by his three brilliant support acts. The brave American duo who opened the show were called The Rise. Both guys had amazing husky voices and were just as talented playing their guitars. Keep an eye out for these two, they have the potential to be big! Their song ‘Wicked Soul’ is now a new favourite of mine.
They were followed by The Risk, who most people will remember from the 2011 series of X Factor, where they made it to the fifth week. It was perhaps a good thing they didn’t make it back then, as at the concert they sounded better than they ever had on X Factor. Their upcoming single ‘Missiles’ is released on the 27th of January so make sure you download it! It’s a very catchy tune that I’m sure you’ll love after hearing it just once.
The final support act before Peter came on was Sam Gray and his band. Together they were amazing! They are quite different to any music currently out at the moment so they definitely have the chance to do well for themselves. The one thing I would say is that even though Sam Gray is a fantastic song writer and frontman, it is still the concept of the band as a whole that makes them so great and unique, thus they could do with a real band name to represent them all. The cute keyboard player Justin Shearn is brilliantly talented and managed to keep smiling the whole way through. Guitarist Ryan Hayes was also amazing to watch as he seemed completely in his own world. All five members of the band are exceptionally talented and their song ‘One Night Stand’ was a particular favourite of mine and my flatmate’s. The album is out the 4th of February so this time next month they could be big!
Finally the moment had come, the man we had all been waiting for; Peter himself was better than I could ever have imagined. In person, just metres in front of me, he looked even better than he does on TV and in the magazines, and amazing for his age. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well he could actually sing live! Another highlight was the magic Peter performed himself, which was a great surprise as magic is something I love. And while some may argue that when streamers and confetti flew all over the crowd it was rather cheesy, I’d argue it was rather spectacular.
However, for me, Pete’s four male dancers almost stole the show. Each dancer was had their own unique style but all were equally talented and equally hot! Dancer Theo (the one who was half naked most of the time) particularly had me mesmerised; my flatmate even claims at one point she thought I had actually stopped breathing! I was further impressed with how well Peter could dance, the guy definitely knows how to move.
The only criticism of the night was the styling. Peter’s many outfits and the four dancers’ multiple outfits were quite a disappointment. They all looked cheap and appeared to be horribly mish-mashed together, and from such a big production, I’d definitely expected better. Other than that, my only other disappointment of the night was that Peter didn’t show as much flesh as his dancers!
The whole night was just a great experience from start to finish and I’m happy to admit that Mr Andre has definitely won me over. I now even find myself playing his albums on repeat!
Pictures:
All my own
1. Peter andre and dancers
2. Me, Ryan Hayes from Sam Gray band, flatmate
3. Peter Andre