Wednesday 1 January 2014

Review - Union J Hits Nottingham


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Photo by Kevin Cooper (more at facebook.com/EGNottingham)
AS one might expect from fans of an X Factor boy band with over a million Twitter followers, it was teenage screams throughout Union J’s set at the Royal Concert Hall on Sunday night, part of their first headline tour, Magazines and TV Screens.

The quartet – consisting of George Shelley, Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett and Jaymi Hensley - have gone a long way since getting together on last year’s ITV talent machine, with three hit singles, a No. 6 album, two books and this 20-date headline tour that runs in to the New Year.


Turning out to see them in Nottingham was this year’s X Factor winner Sam Bailey, who had a busy time on the balcony having photos taken with fans.


Before the main event at 9pm, there were four support acts; Eylar Fox, Ollie Marland, Room 94 and Five Angels, who all had the crowd on their feet dancing along.


While the former two suited the Union J sound, Room 94 had an edgier rock sound, closer to that of Lawson and lyrics about teen romance sat well with the audience.


But they saved the hysteria for the Union J, who opened with Where Are You Now, the quartet making full use of the stage, bouncing around it and encouraging their fans to join in.


Any group with just one album to their name, needs a few extras to fill a set and in Union J’s case they were covers of Katy Perry’s Roar and One Republic’s Counting Stars.


Debut single, Carry You, the video for which was filmed in Nottingham earlier this year, sent the crowd into overdrive and even the parents were out of their seats, dancing along.


The light from a thousand phones lit up the venue as they ran through their second hit single, It’s A Beautiful Life, while latest single, Loving You Is Easy, closed the set.


The fans clearly enjoyed it but what of the group? Yesterday, Josh described it as “my favourite show of the tour so far!” on Twitter, adding: “NOTTINGHAM......you were insaneeeeeeeeeeeee.”


Union J have slipped right in to those pop shoes left behind by JLS and are racing after One Direction for the title of Britain’s biggest boy band.

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