The Script, O2 Academy, Birmingham - review and pictures
It was a stunning return sell-out performance for The Script who last graced the O2 Academy in Birmingham in 2015.
The intimate venue was packed with a crowd of 3,000 predominantly older fans which was hot and sweaty from all the excitement.
They strolled on the stage under blue spotlights shining out into the crowd and were met by screams when the stage lit up. Danny O'Donoghue walked back and forth across the front of the stage during their opener Rock the World which had the crowd clapping along from the start.
He donned a black tank top with the their new album Freedom Child design on it which showed off his arms and wore matching baggy black trousers. The other two-thirds of the Irish trio, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power, were also in all black.
There was no doubt about it, they loved being there as much as the audience did.
"Welcome to the Freedom Child Tour, we're back!" beamed Danny.
"I feel like we were never away. Amazing.
"Where are all my superheroes at?"
There were incredible performances of Superheroes, Paint the Town, and It's Not Right By You.
They got onto the scene in 2001 in Dublin,the Irish heart-throbs captured audiences since their hit The Man Who Cant Be Moved in and Breakeven in 2008.
They took a longer break between albums than usual but returned with a bang. It took three years to make their newest album Freedom Child whilst it took a year less for every other. Their last album was No Sound Without Silence in 2014.
Half way through the show they slowed down and opened up to the audience who burst into a choir of fans as Danny took to the keyboard at centre stage for the Man Who Can't Be Moved.
"We'd love to play a new song if that's cool with you," he added.
"It's a song that we wrote in a dark time in our lives and sometimes it's just good that sometimes someone just listens.
"Some people listen with the intent of just replying but that's not good enough."
Arms Open was performed under blue mood lighting which had the audience captivated.
"I just feel the hair on my head stand up and that hasn't happened for a long time. Thank you guys so much," he grinned.
The performance coincides with the release of their anticipated fifth album, Freedom Child, which is out in less than a weeks time.
They performed Science and Faith, If You Could See Me Now, and there was an amazing guitar solo from Mark Sheehan for The Energy Never Dies and Danny appeared in the audience on the upper levels.
They left the stage without performing the first single from their new album Rain which stormed straight into the Top 10 on iTunes.
The crowd chanted "one more song" and "do one more" and they were back on within minutes with strobe lights blaring, performing No Good in Goodbye, the highly anticipated Rain and Hall of Fame.
"We feel times are getting hard these days so we're here to promote freedom of expression, freedom to be who you want to be, freedom to love who you want to love, freedom to say what you want to say, freedom what you want to do and freedom to sign what you want to sing!," bellowed Danny.
The performance ended with fans lighting up the crowd with their phone to go live and Facebook and Twitter.
"Get your phones out," said Danny.
"Let's make a moment."
The frontman finished the show by touching the hands of the front row and fans went crazy as they battled over Glen Power's drumsticks which he threw into the crowd for the end.
