Olly Murs: Win awards? I’d rather go on tour

Google the words ‘Olly Murs’ and a litany of trivia appears.

He’s not going to find love with his duet-buddy Louise Johnson, says one newspaper; his big secret is going to be revealed by Niall Horan, says another.

He’s nursing a broken heart after a tough break-up with his ex, Francesca Thomas, claims one source; he’s already secretly dating, says another.

If all of the things that are written about Olly Murs were true, he would have to split himself into a hundred different people. For it defies logic that he’s both seeing someone and happily single; that he’s going to appear on a TV show while at the same time being on the road.

Olly is a tabloid and social media favourite. The swirl of gossip and rumour, factoid and counter-rumour brews like a storm over the Pennines.

The man himself is sanguine. When other people are talking, he tunes out. The incessant chat about what he is and isn’t doing is an activity from which he’s disengaged.

“Some days it can be a bit bonkers. But it’s how you deal with it. I don’t live a crazy lifestyle, I live a normal life, I get to do extravagant things like performing to thousands of people – not everyone can get up on stage and sing and all that.

“But if you followed me for the day, you’d see. It can be crazy with work and different things, but then I go home and put my feet up and watch TV.”

Normal. Normal. Normal.

“That other tabloid world, I switch off from it so that I stay sane. If I looked at social media or press reports it could get on my nerves, so I just laugh it off. I don’t read too much into the papers. It’s just about them selling papers. It doesn’t reflect on me as a person. It’s chip paper the next day.”

Olly’s back on the road playing a series of thoroughly-enjoyable open air gigs at forests, cricket grounds, race courses and open air theatres. Two are nearby, with Shropshire fans looking forward to a headline at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground tonight and West Midlands fans travelling south to see him at Worcester County Cricket Club tomorrow.

They mark a change in tack for Olly, who’s used to filling stadia such as Birmingham’s Genting and Barclaycard arenas. The shows have had a different atmosphere as the calm and tranquillity of alternative venues have created a new vibe.

“The shows have been amazing, yeah. They’ve been really good. To be fair, they’ve been rockin’. Everyone is having a good time. You know, it’s all singing, all the hits and lots of fun. I’ve been telling the fans, it’s a workout, they’ll burn some calories, that’s for sure.

“The outdoor shows are all about feeling good and they’ve been great. But I’m an entertainer and this is what I’ve always just done. I go out there and have a good time. It’s a good family show and hopefully the sun will stay out for us.”

Although Olly’s most recent album, 24 Hrs, was an avowed hit, giving him his fourth consecutive number one and a platinum album to boot, the shows are a celebration of his career. They go back to his debut, the self-titled Olly Murs, which was released following his second place finish on the X Factor. And then there are tunes from his three subsequent number one records, In Case You Didn’t Know, Right Place Right Time and Never Been Better. All of those records sold near-to or above the million mark, making Olly a household name and one of the nation’s favourite pop stars.

For this weekend’s gigs, it’s all about having a good time.

“I’ve changed the set slightly and bunged a couple of songs in to give it a bit of life and a bit of different, especially for those who have previously come along to an arena show. When it’s outdoors, people drink and have a good time. Then they can go home and be ready for Monday morning. We all look forward to the weekend and hopefully these shows give fans a good night out. But I’m grateful to the fans because they’re the ones who put me there. I always say to the fans there’s 101 different things they could be doing. Thankfully they share their time with me.

“And it’s much better at this time to be outdoors than inside an arena, yeah. I was on stage on Saturday and there was a lovely breeze, nice cool air, while I was singing. It was really nice. So there’s less pressure. It’s more about the music and the band and the sound. Even for the fans, they have lots more freedom than when they‘re in seats.”

Olly is a one-off. By this stage of his career, seven years in from his debut, he ought to be dead in the water. After all the track record of X Factor artists is rum. For every One Direction and Leona Lewis – the only two acts who’ve done better than Olly – there’s a Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson and Ben Haenow.

Olly has been different. Just like Little Mix, Leona and 1D, he’s managed to sustain his career. And, in his view, that comes down to being a likeable fella and trying to constantly evolve and move forward. So while at the start of his career he was unashamedly pop, these days he’s increasingly mature. 24 Hrs was slicker, more upbeat and more fun than his previous work – it was all about healing broken hearts through dance therapy.

He brought a number of starry collaborators on board, including Cutfather, Carl Falk, Steve Mac, Matt Rad, Steve Robson and TMS, among others. He’s determined to keep moving forward, to embrace modernity and continually evolve.

“In any job you do, you’re never going to be perfect. I’ve always had that attitude since day one. And I’m always excited about what’s coming up next. Over the years, I’ve managed to perform with Robbie (Williams) and I’ve learned so much from him. These days, I think my fans are getting the real me, even more. I’m a much better artist now than I was.”

Robbie has been a constant support. The two played a series of stadium shows, thrilling hundreds of thousands of fans around the UK. Olly observed how his brother-in-arms worked the crowd, kept the tempo and built excitement. And those lessons fed into his most recent album.

“I’m really happy with the music that I’ve been delivering and doing. To get a fourth number one, over five albums, I can’t believe that. It’s still a fantastic achievement, even though I’ve now done it four times. Hopefully I can continue the ball rolling with the next album. It means a lot to me to keep doing that consistently. Sustaining it is difficult in this industry. As we all know, artists come and go and it’s a hard industry to crack so lucky me that I’ve been around for seven years. It’s great. But that’s all credit to the fans. They stick by me and love my music and support me. It’s down.”

It’s been seven months since 24 Hrs and Olly is already plotting his sixth album. Though he’s in no urgent rush and fans shouldn’t expect anything until 2018 at the earliest. He’s still busy with live shows and is waiting for time to run its course.

“I went into the studio recently to do a bit of writing but it was nothing major. I’m not really thinking about what comes next at the moment. I just want to enjoy 2017 and travel around and see what happens.”

That might involve more TV work if the right offer comes in. Olly has been a success on our small screens, working as a presenter on the X Factor in 2015 and The Xtra Factor prior to that. He’s also featured on a number of Christmas shows as well as 90210. The Manchester United fan, who lived with his parents until 2012, enjoys those roles.

“For me, TV is great. I love doing everything. I’m just an old-school entertainer. Me and Robbie say that to each other. We’re entertainers. That’s what we are. So whenever opportunities come up that are fun and worth doing, I’ll attack them and do the best I can. If there are more presenting jobs I’ll look at them.”

Having Robbie in his corner has been instrumental. After all, no British entertainer since Elton John has lived through the highs and lows that Robbie has experienced. The former Take That star has hit number one on the album with all but one of his 11 albums and six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling UK records of all time. In 2006 he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for selling a colossal 1.6 million tour tickets in a single day. If it’s sometimes lonely at the top, it gets a little less so when you’re best mates with Robbie.

“Robbie’s been there and done it. He’s been through everything, more so than I probably ever will. It’s amazing to call him a mate, he’s a brother, really, I look up to him and we get on great. To be able to have someone like that who can talk about industry things is amazing and he’s very encouraging of me. So he’s amazing, yeah. We’re always rubbing each other’s egos when albums come out. He’s always complimentary of me but I’m also the same with him.”

Commercial

Might the two of them work together again?

“We’ve always said we’d love to do stuff again, yes.”

And yet, for all of his commercial success, critical acclaim has seemed to evade Olly. He’s an artist viewed disdainfully by some of the nation’s sniffier critics. So while Robbie has cleaned up at the Brits, Q Awards and others, Olly’s mantelpiece is comparatively bare. Though he’s shifted 10 million records, he’s won a couple of BBC Radio One Teen Awards but never made it past the nomination stage at the Brits. The Ivor Novello and MTV awards have also looked but decided not to touch.

Olly doesn’t mind.

“We all love to win awards and get recognised for what we’re achieving. But if it’s a choice between getting all the awards in the world or selling out tours than winning a load of awards, I’d rather do the latter. My success is driven by tours and getting number ones. Awards are up against so many other artists. It’s great to be nominated, but it’s about number ones and touring. Awards just sit there gathering dust.”

Besides, music means more to Olly than just a job. He’s a great believer in the power of pop. The redemptive nature of the humble song has been in evidence in recent times, particularly at the One Love concert in Manchester, which gave hope to those affected by the Manchester terror attacks.

“I thought One Love was incredible. I thought it was wonderful to show the unity and love of Manchester and the world together. We won’t let these morons do what they want to do.

“It was a real expression of togetherness by the world. The British and Amercian artists came together. It was an occasion for us to fight back. It was a fantastic night and it was very emotional and amazing.”

And yet, despite the power of pop and despite the lurid headlines, Olly remains the same old fella that he was when working in a call centre and dreaming of fame.

“I’ve still got the same friends from home and I’m constantly out with them and doing stuff with them. It’s hard when people ask whether I’m the same man and have the same friends. Of course I am. Of course I do. I’ve never lost contact with my roots.”

By Andy Richardson

l For ticket information for tonight and tomorrow’s gigs visit www.ollymurs.com