There are many people in this world who dream of success in the music business, a few get lucky and have success thrown at them. Others, like Oliver Tourle, work their socks off to make it happen and, as the stunning auditorium of the Salomons Science Theatre fills to capacity, it looks like he is succeeding.
We are gathering to help celebrate the launch of Oliver’s first EP, entitled SING. The stunning Welte player pipe organ, one of only two operational instruments of its type left in the world, forms an imposing backdrop and, using Morgan Jones superb lighting effects, looks even more impressive than usual in the multi-coloured light.
Through the haze, and as the familiar opening bars of Adele’s hit When We Were Young fill the auditorium, Oliver takes his place centre stage and blasts out his opening number, showing exactly why it is track one on his EP. His vocals are crystal clear, incredibly powerful and the song is delivered with real emotion and passion.
Musical director Emma Jackson plays keyboards for the show, with Singer/ Songwriter One Man Plan (Ben Hills) on acoustic guitar and Betsy Lee-Miller on backing vocals. Oliver goes on to perform stripped back versions of songs as diverse as Let Her Go by Passenger, Queen’s Somebody to Love (track three on the EP) and even the Dolly Parton/ Whitney Houston mega-hit I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard.
His passion to help others “live the dream” means that, as well as offering his backing singer a chance to take the limelight with a solo number, and a duet with him on Beauty and the Beast, Oliver also offers “Guest Star” opportunities to One Man Plan and to local singer, Brooke Wells – who shines with a superb version of American R&B singer Andra Day’s Rise Up.
Oliver’s casual and confident approach to performing his show is infectious and the audience really warm to both his singing and his chatting in between songs. He goes on to deliver firm favourites like Somewhere Over The Rainbow and, from the film Blue Hawaii, Elvis’s Can’t Help Falling in Love as well as the other tracks from his EP, Jess Glynne’s Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself and, his final number of the evening, a beautiful song written and recorded by American country music duo Dan + Shay, From the Ground Up.
In his introduction Oliver says, “When I was younger, I could only have dreamed of being in a recording studio, producing my own shows and having people hear me sing”, well, thankfully, he dared to dream, his dream came true and now we can all share his superb talent displayed so brilliantly both on stage and on his new EP – SING.
***** Five Stars
