When 'Glad You Came' hit the number one spot in July of last year, its dance-tinged feel begged the question - have The Wanted already tired of being a boy band? Have they gone all Ibiza on us, and ditched the phones-in-the-air anthems?

Well, the answer soon came back an emphatic 'no'. The album which followed that single, Battleground, was largely similar to their first; boy-banditry which was impressive and safe in equal measure.

But it's clearly done well enough for them to embark on their first arena tour. And for those at the Capital FM Arena for the start of that tour, the fact that Tom, Max, Siva, Nathan and Jay are up on stage, fresh back from the US where their promotion has seen 'Glad You Came' break the Top 30, is all that really matters.

It does seem, too, that the boys are genuinely pleased to be here. Max tells us it's "the best feeling they've ever had" and it's easy to see why. The crowd never tires of screaming whenever an image of one of the boys flashes up on the big screen, whther it's for the first or 31st time, and there's an air of celebration throughout the evening.

So what's their secret? After all, they don't really do dancing; they play instruments on a few songs but largely leave musical matters to the backing band; and while they're all decent singers, it's only Nathan who really has a voice to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

What they do have, however, is a handful of very good songs - 'All Time Low', 'Heart Vacancy', 'Glad You Came' - and a nice-bunch-of-lads demeanour which goes down a treat. Sure, they haven't yet quite got enough stand-out songs to sustain a 90-minute set - a fact highlighted by a slightly out-of-place segment of not one but four Coldplay songs - but that will surely come in time.

In the meantime, we enjoyed the songs there were, from opener 'Invincible' with its dodgy 'forgettable/alcohol" rhyme, right through to the encore which gave us all the chance to nod and agree that, yes, we were indeed Glad We Came. Throw in a few pyrotechnics for good measure, and there will surely be very few in the crowd who left the arena without a smile on their face.   

There were only two gripes. Three support acts - and a 9.30pm start for the main act - seemed a bit excessive for what was quite a young crowd, with some parents feeling the need to take their little ones home before the end. And also the perennial moan about expensive merchandising - always an issue, but never more so than when a programme costs a shocking £15. These aside, an excellent start to the tour; just don't forget all about us when you make it big in the States. 

 

Setlist

 

Invincible

Lose My Mind

Rocket

Lie To Me

Lightning

Last To Know

Dagger

Heart Vacancy

I Want It All

I'll Be Your Strength

Warzone

Coldplay medley: Viva La Vida, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Paradise, Fix You

Say It On The Radio

Gold Forever

All Time Low

 

Encore: Glad You Came