The Big Reunion at The O2 | Review

The Big Reunion at The O2 on the 16th of May 2013

Acts included: 5ive, B*Witched, 911, Honeyz, Atomic Kitten, Liberty X & Blue

The type of reunions that we are more used to usually involve a drunk uncle singing DJ Otzi’s Hey Baby at the top of his lungs, triangular sandwiches, the insincere murmurings of a sparse “congratulations” and a table of squabbling auld one’s bemoaning the success of that person across the room. While this pack of 90’s popstars can’t count much by way of current success (current jobs include: pub/wedding singers, full-time mammy’s, pub owners, nurses and drama teacher), this night goes a long way towards reigniting a fire in their careers that enjoyed so much success and millions of albums sales in the past.

While the Top of the Pops/Smash Hits magazines and popstar posters that formed a full wrap-around wallpaper in most of this crowds teenage bedrooms, have long since been retired to the memory-box in the attic; it was with much excitement that large numbers knocked on the O2 door for an onslaught of nostalgia and twee-pop gold.

An elaborate stage set-up stands a dominant figure on the 02 stage and as the lights go down, the screams go up . . . and up and up. As the ITV Big Reunion TV show graphics appear on the stage, the first riff of We Will Rock You blares out. 5ive, or should we say 4our, strut confidently on to the stage and greet the wall of sound with energy. The bad-boy boy band that everyone still seems to hold a great affection for return to the stage without Jay (the hard-man rapper bloke) but Abz (the bad-boy/tattoo covered Londoner) takes up the mantle of rhyming wordsmith for the night. Never big fans of too much choreography, the lads do their best to walk and step in time and generally leg it about the stage as they power through Everybody Get Up and If Ya Gettin’ Down. While maybe not as loud and excitable as in their teens, this largely middle-aged woman crowd kick-off this gig with a deafening roar.

As would continue for the rest of the night, each group performs 2-3 songs and then vacates the stage for the next act; presumably and understandably because their popstar bodies are not as young and youthful as they once were. Our very own B*Witched then take to the stage for what is their homecoming after 12 or so years away from a Dublin stage. C’est La Vie rightfully kicks it all off as everyone momentarily forgets that this song is about as cringe-worthy to our nation as sending a Turkey to represent us in the Eurovision. This is the first time a crowd will have heard this or their next song Rollercoaster performed and not atop VH1’s ‘Top 100 Most Annoying Songs of All Time’ count-down.

911 are next to the stage as one member sings and two members dance their way through Friday Night and Love Sensation. The atmosphere takes a notable dip as most crowd members take this opportunity to visit the loo or the bar. A similar outcome meets Honeyz, and their trademark purple coats, as they take to the stage sporting their usual sexy outfits as black leather clads their bodies. Finally Found and End of The Line pull the crowd back to their seats as every woman in the crowd get’s their finger wagging out in force and remembers singing these songs about that “first-love arsehole”, as someone eloquently put it, that they used to sing this song about in their teens.

Atomic Kitten are next up and all eyes stay firmly on Kerry Katona, maybe the crowd are begging for another meltdown. Instead, what they get is probably the most polished and vocally impressive performance of the night as the Kittens sing Right Now and an a capella introduced It’s OK. Liberty X, one of the smaller groups in terms of success and longevity, become the biggest surprise of the night as Thinking it Over, Got to Have Your Love and Ain’t Nobody turn the O2 back into the cauldron of noise, dancing and hysteria from earlier on. This is aided by the Irish member in the band, Tony Lundon, who leads the crowd in singing The Fields of Athenry and Ole Ole Ole (sorry is this a football match or a pop concert?).

Blue, the obvious addition for ticket sales alone, takes to the stage to round off a first half chock-full of pop gems, catchy numbers and sing-along choruses. Blue never really went away, people just lost interest, so this is more of a jumping on the bandwagon than a big reunion for them. As they haven’t been away too long, their shows is streets ahead of the others in terms of vocals and professionalism. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word and All Rise stand out as the crowd go bloody mental for Lee, Simon, Duncan and that pizza delivery lookalike Anthony.

A thirty-minute interval let’s the crowd catch their breath and grab a Smirnoff Ice as Honeyz bring the quota of R’N’B to the show as they sign off with Never Let You Down. 911 then bring out their big number as they sing Body Shaking and unleash impressive dance moves for guys pushing forty years of age. Flips and jumps hide the fact that only one guy’s mic is plugged in and their final song, More Than A Woman has the crowd singing back all the words to this Bee Gee’s classic.

Liberty X, the surprise package of the night then treat us to Just A Little and a rather unforgettable Holding On For You. It’s not been long and Blue are back to the stage with Can’t Breath Easy which gives the crowd the opportunity of perfecting that much adored boy band dance move; you know the grasp a bit of air, pull it down and then throw it away again – now do it with me; grab, pull, throw – perfection. The Blue guys then sign off with One Love, a mammoth pop song much loved by everyone in attendance as the crowd go wild once more. With another album ready to go, expect to see Blue again soon.

B*Witched then break out their other singles (yes, they do have other songs) with Jessie Hold On and Blame It On The Weatherman. The latter sees umbrellas used in the choreography and even the Irish flag makes an appearance to remind us that these guys, despite their childish lyrics, were one of the Ireland’s biggest pop exports so the crowd rightfully give them a rousing reception.

5ive, the band getting the most attention from the crowd then return to the stage and hit us with the blistering combo of Baby When The Lights Go Out and Keep on Moving. On the TV show, they went looking for another member all in vain as they tried to fill Jay’s boots but they need not have worried as Abz and the guys really stepped up to the plate. Despite glossing over the fact that Scott and Jay have been playing 5ive songs in bars for the past 5 years to around 50 people in some cases, they seem to be back with a bang and are already planning a solo tour. Unlike most of the other acts, there is still some quality tunes in the back catalog for them to rediscover.

For the last of the night, Atomic Kitten return to the stage and perform Tide is High. The whole crowd seems to be transfixed to Kerry as every time she gets a solo, the crowd roar their support which results in an emotional Kerry thanking Ireland and her “second home” for their support. The Big Reunion night is finished with the “poignant” and cringy Whole Again (has nobody told 5ive they are not Whole Again?). All the other acts return to the stage and sing in unison, kind of, to this mega pop ballad.

The night of reliving the ’90s was now over and the singing continued well after the final curtain as the crowd sang their favourite songs from the night all the way home. There is no question about value for money as nothing but hits were played throughout the concert as the gig provided a time-portal bubble back to a time when pop ruled the airwaves. With most bands on the night claiming to release new songs and albums, we can all look forward to some failed attempts at stardom and maybe, just maybe the rebirth of a new, slightly older pop group.