Blunt wows Festival Hall

Blunt wows Festival Hall
Melbourne Herald Sun - Australia
By JAMES WIGNEY. SINGING soldier James Blunt won over a packed Festival Hall last night as his all-conquering world tour rolled into Melbourne. ...

SINGING soldier James Blunt won over a packed Festival Hall last night as his all-conquering world tour rolled into Melbourne.Almost a year to the day after his debut album, Back to Bedlam, was released in Australia, Blunt wowed the crowd with a mixture of superbly crafted pop songs and emotion-charged ballads.

What a difference a year makes – then, Blunt, a former British Army captain, was barely known outside his homeland.

Since, Back to Bedlam has topped charts around the world and sold more than seven million copies.

Blunt's blokey banter, delivered in an oh-so-pukka accent, reflects a
confident front man at ease before a tight four-piece band that easily fills the
bigger venues he is now playing.

His trademark, not-so-blokey falsetto was used to good effect on high, Tears
and Rain and his new single Wise Men backed by thousands who knew every word.

When he took to the piano for a solo of Goodbye My Lover, women swooned and
the audience held its collective breath before exploding during the final
chorus.