We went to see James Blunt in Belfast and there's more to him than 'You're Beautiful'

The SSE Arena was packed to the rafters for James Blunt with a sell out crowd on the opening night of his Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour.

It is hard to believe that it has been over 20 years since James Blunt came onto the scene. Blunt rose to fame with his critically acclaimed album 'Back to Bedlam' which peaked at number 1 on the UK and Ireland charts.

The first of his seven studio albums led to his meteoric rise and this tour is to celebrate that. The set opened with his biggest hits like 'High', 'Wisemen' and 'Goodbye my Lover' which was a really refreshing format as many leave it right to the end.

In the years since his first album was released he has become known for his sharp witted humour and that was also apparent on the night. However, what was also very apparent was his passion for a few things: his music, his fans and his wife.

A personal highlight of the night for me was when he played the ukulele which he told us he learned when he met his wife who I was sat right beside and that energy was contagious as it felt like a lot of his tunes were being sang in our direction.

It was great to see someone who still loves their old music and spoke very fondly of his journey with the music industry while also acknowledging that it came with some lows.

I went into it expecting a nice concert with a few love songs but this tour seems to be much more than that. There was an electric energy in the room that was a mixture of nostalgia for the hits of 20 years ago and the energy of someone who absolutely loves being stage and has no intention of stopping.

His voice has not faltered in the last 20 years and he knows how to put on a fantastic show that left me feeling on top of the world. As he sets off around the world on this tour it acts as a reminder why he rose to fame in the first place and why this album is remembered so fondly.

I couldn't think of much better things to be doing on a Tuesday night so if you get an opportunity to see James Blunt on this tour you should definitely take it and at the very least this is a reminder just how great that album was and worth another listen.

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