When our friends Mr and Mrs Flying-the-Flag asked us if we’d like to join them to see Olly Murs in concert, my initial reaction was – absolutely! He’s a big name, and I was sure he’d recorded some good songs, and I always like to support the town giving us big attractions for our amusement and entertainment. After a little while, the reality kicked in. I couldn’t name any of his songs. Nor could Mrs Chrisparkle, although she knew she liked him. So one week before the concert I toddled off to iTunes and downloaded all his tracks that appeared to be popular.

And, guess what? Of course we know him. He’s done so many upbeat, jolly, poppy pop songs over the past few years that it would be impossible not to enjoy an evening in his musical company. Several thousand others had clearly had the same reaction, as was clear when we joined a queue three-quarters of the way down a terraced street before you turn right to get to the Cricket Ground. Mr Flag had secured us Platinum tickets, as befits our distinguished status, which meant we could leapfrog the queue and sneak into the ground just to the right of the portaloos; distinguished indeed. It also meant we could watch the show right by the front of the stage – or at least we could have done if a few other thousand equally distinguished Ollyites hadn’t already beaten us to it. Still, we got pretty close, even if we were on the side; and we arrived just as support act Louisa Johnson took the stage.

That was my next question. As non-watchers of X-Factor, we hadn’t a clue who she was. Mr Flag gave us the rundown. She’s only 19! And she supports West Ham, so she’s Alright By Me. I’ll confess I can’t now remember any of the songs she sang but she was full of fun, had a great voice and personality, and had who knows how many thousands of punters in the palm of her hand.

After a thirty-minute break, designed for us to go and buy some ludicrously expensive food and drink – we declined the option – the huge stage welcomed Olly Murs. Backed by a fantastic band, and loads of great backing singers, visually the whole sight of it made a huge impact. There was a screen at the back of the stage that, for some of his songs, showed quirky pre-recorded footage of him performing the very same song that he was singing live – and of course the live Olly and the pre-recorded Olly were in perfect synch. I’d not seen that done before and it was really arresting.

He very much geared his act towards the ladies; in fact, the way he said it, they were more like laydeez, with the guys in the audience only given the occasional passing nod. I guess this is his stage persona, but I have to say it didn’t make me feel quite as welcome as I might have liked. He also played quite a bit to the kids, which was nice, as he certainly attracts the teenage – and younger – girls. One young teenybopper jumped up and down in front of our noses for almost the entire time he was on; it’s great to see their enthusiasm. There was a bizarre moment when he was introducing a song and nearly uttered a swear word, but then he covered his mouth with his hands and said that he wouldn’t say that word because there were kids present. Funny, seeing as how the rest of the time he was implying that he’d like to shag their mothers. For his final hurrah, as he was leaving the stage after the last song, he suddenly ripped his shirt off and gave us a gratuitous ten second gawp at his chest. To be honest, I could have done without that, but I’m guessing it wasn’t for my benefit. Mrs Flag wasn’t impressed either, as she obviously prefers the more hirsute kinda guy.

But we were there for the songs, and in that department, he was absolutely ace. I recognised most of them; he kicked off with You Don’t Know Love, which was a great starter, and followed it with Wrapped Up, the essence of bubblegum pop and a huge crowd-pleaser. The others that I really enjoyed were Heart Skips A Beat – which he could probably have performed three or four times and no one would have minded; and three absolute classics of modern pop, Dear Darlin’, Mr Flag’s favourite Dance With Me Tonight, and my favourite, Troublemaker.

He showed disarming honesty by saying that normally a performer would go off at the end, wait a few minutes then come on again for an encore; but we all know the going-off is fake, so what’s the point? So he simply stayed on to perform Mrs Flag’s favourite, Kiss Me, and finally Years & Years, which I hadn’t downloaded earlier in the week, so left me slightly dissatisfied for a final memory; particularly as he didn’t sing Please Don’t Let Me Go, which is my other favourite. Still, I got a pretty good hit-rate for the songs I knew and liked. Oh – he also performed his duet with Louisa Johnson, Unpredictable. I liked it; Mrs C was not so sure. The one thing we all agreed was that he’d be perfect for Eurovision. No, honestly, he really, really would.

Olly Murs is a terrific showman and packed his 90 minutes with vitality and energy. Sometimes you see an established act and feel a little short-changed, as though they were phoning it in. Not so with Mr Murs, you couldn’t ask for more conviction and pizazz from a performance. He’s about two-thirds of the way through his tour, but there are still plenty of opportunities to see him all round the country between now and 27th August, and I can guarantee you’ll have a great time.

P. S. Apparently it’s compulsory at an Olly Murs concert to chant out Olly, Olly, Olly, Oi, Oi, Oi. Several waves of this refrain drifted out from the ground towards the stage during the course of the evening. I broke the bye-law by not joining in, but Mr Flag was giving it large, like the great big kid he is. I’m not sure how much Mrs Flag appreciated it being bellowed in her ear.