It’s fair to say that 2015 has been the year of Years and Years as they have stormed every chart going and risen to become one of the most loved bands in the UK. To top off the fantastic year the group have had, they embarked on a UK nationwide headline tour and joined us in the UEA LCR for an evening of magnificent music.
Australian-born Oscar Key Sung opened the second evening of the tour, in Norwich’s LCR, to an ecstatic crowd, who were ready to party. Joined by his computer on stage, he proceeded to create catchy beats and perform effortlessly to them. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact sound of Oscar’s, or what you could even compare him to in the industry currently. But it’s this that makes him stand out from the rest and makes him intriguing to the crowd who are standing in silence, gazing up to the stage. It wasn’t until later on in the set, however, that Oscar entirely let loose, moving and dancing on stage, which is what the crowd had been waiting for. It was then that the masses gathered in the venue fully committed to his performance and led him off stage with a whaling round of applause.
It’s next that we are joined on stage by Swedish electro-pop singer-songwriter Tove Styrke, who had us gripped from the very beginning. Bouncing onto the stage in an illuminous orange outfit, she took the crowd by storm as she performed endless catchy songs throughout her whole set. The energy pursued on stage created a whole new vibrancy in the venue and proved her to be a real star who I’m sure is set to take the UK by storm. Whether the crowd previously knew of her music or not, they could not help but sing along to her take on the Britney Spears hit ‘Baby One More Time’, which was a breath of fresh air as the track was completely modernised with a synthesiser backing and her immaculate vocals. Tove was the perfect support act for the tour, and as all of the crowd would agree, has a big future in the music industry ahead of her.
Of course, by now the venue was absolutely packed for a sell-out show to see the headliners, Years and Years. People were crammed as close to the stage as possible, and those who had queued for hours outside the venue lined the front barrier. It was when the venue fell into darkness, and the backing track began, that the room illuminated with screams, phone torches and excitement. This atmosphere persisted throughout the rest of the evening. The band entered to ‘Foundation’, the opening track from their debut #1 album, ‘Communion’. The vocals projected by lead, Olly Alexander, echoed around the room as the eerie sound of the song sent shivers down your spine. The magic of the moment was duplicated by the crowd who vocalised the lyrics straight back to the band and continued to do so for each and every song on the set from the bands album.
The excellence of this show not only outdid itself with the band themselves but also with the stage setup. It would be a crime not to mention the complex lighting backdrop in the style of the bands album, ‘Communion’ that lit the stage in various colours throughout, and finished in the colours of the album cover itself. Not only did it bring together what the show was celebrating, (the bands album), but also brought about a feeling of stardom. Showing how far the band had come to stand in front of us as an established act, whose fan base is continuously growing by the day.
The bands humbleness and love for their supporters was also something that stood out to me. As a band who have quickly risen to fame, it was so lovely to see that they are still so grounded and so loving towards those who have got them to where they are. Olly was continuously holding fans hands on the barrier throughout and even left the stage to see the fans at the front during ‘Shine’, one of their biggest hits. A heart-warming but jealous moment for all of the fans in the crowd was also when Olly Alexander invited a fan onto the stage to dance with him during ‘Breathe’, which was a lovely touch to the show.
It’s almost impossible to pick out any individual moments that stood out for me during the show as everything about it was great. The show was brilliant, the vibe and ambience exuberated by the band and crowd was second to none, and the talent and diversity of the band was and is incredible. I would without a doubt recommend seeing this band live. With them due to play bigger venues on their tour next year and perform in Wembley Arena I would be sure to grab tickets before they sell out!
Words – Mollie Maddox
Photography – Kayleigh Warren
