James Blunt is probably the most unlikely pop star of the last decade, with fame thrust upon him in a literal flash. When You’re Beautiful dominated charts and airwaves for seemingly years in the mid noughties, it strangely derailed the former soldier’s new career move. Not in terms of success of course, but creatively. Tonight at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo though, he seems much more comfortable.
Having changed venue size dramatically following those extraordinary months of 2005 and 2006 (even making it to the O2), Blunt is now playing to audiences that suit him and his music far more. The stage set up is impressive, with his backing band elevated on small stages behind the singer but kept anonymous by their uniform dark outfits.
The tour is named after his third album Some Kind of Trouble, a much stronger set than his last release in 2007, and the opening is dominated by a selection from it and from his debut, the mega-selling Back to Bedlam. The likes of Dangerous, These Are the Words and the opening So Far Gone slip the audience into a 70s pop groove smoothly. However it’s the early material that shines the most, with the terrific Wiseman (possibly his best song) and an outstanding performance of Goodbye My Lover.
There’s little time for talk as he rattles through 21 tracks, although when he does speak he amusingly wonders why his fans love the sadder material more; “I have a lot of miserable songs to get through….not sure why you get off on it”. But it’s probably because that’s what he does best. If Time Is All I Have, for example, sounds much better live than the dreary album track on Some Kind of Trouble.
The surprise of the night is that You’re Beautiful isn’t saved for the encore. In fact it’s performed a little before the end. It’s a clever move. We’ve all heard it enough times but you can’t leave it out. It’s a sign of Blunt’s maturity as an artist. Tonight he’s happy in his surroundings and with his smaller, less mass market audience (his recent single didn’t even make the top 20). Only a comedy trip after jumping off a speaker spoils a polished performance. But then it’s quite fitting from someone who sounds like the really posh father of Frank Spencer!
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