It’s been a couple of years since his last tour and James Arthur seems that he has left his slightly troubled past well behind him. With the release of his latest album ‘Bitter Sweet Love’, he seems to be back to his best, and judging by the nearly sold out Utilita tonight, a lot of people think so too. Yes, there is a high percentage of females in the audience, with quite a few partners being dragged along. But saying that, Arthurs emotionally charged voice has a wider appeal than you think.

Obviously, the set is ‘Bitter Sweet Love’ heavy, not surprisingly, but the older faves like ‘Train Wreck’, (dedicated to a fan), ‘Naked’ and ‘Impossible’ were on show, with a cracking rendition of ‘Rewrite The Stars’ as a duet with Neve. Arthur at the moment seems to have hit a rich vein of success and although you don’t get a high energy, manic performance, he is compelling to watch and surprised me with how talented he was. Vocally he was spot on, and left the very enthusiastic, very vocal crowd with ‘Say You Won’t Go’. On this showing the future looks bright again for The Comeback Kid, (see what I did there?).

Review by Geoff & Jenny Griffe

Image Credit: PRESS