Olivia Dean: a marvellous show from a rising British pop star – with real instruments
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Taylor Swift and Harry Styles fans have their sparkly dresses and pink cowboy hats; Olivia Rodrigo followers their ripped fishnets and tartan kilts. As for Olivia Dean, it turns out the sartorial uniform at her gigs consists of humongous lace scrunchies worn in slicked-back hair.
It’s a fitting aesthetic for the 25-year-old Brit School graduate (and Brit Award-nominee), whose polished, irresistibly smooth take on neo-soul has made her a favoured artist among Gen Z. At the first of three sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Apollo on Thursday night, Dean – who hails from near Walthamstow, north-east London – performed a winning mix of tracks from her Mercury Prize-shortlisted 2023 debut, Messy, and new music.
She started the evening with UFO, an otherworldly ballad about falling in love that exposed the sonorous potential of her voice: disarmingly soft, at first, before building into a deep-throated howl that reverberated around the room. Delivered from behind a curtain emblazoned with a smudged flower, her brand of empowerment was humble and honest – the audience informed of messy relationships, and mistakes made on her path to fame.
But Dean really found her mojo when the curtain dropped, revealing her slight frame clothed in a scarlet satin crop top and tiered skirt (that transformed into a disco-worthy mini later in the night), framed by cascading curls. Ok Love You Bye, the 2019 single that brought her firmly to the attention of major labels (she is signed to EMI, home to Elton John, Metallica and Taylor Swift), saw her full backing band spring to life to power her off-kilter lyrics (“Note to self / Four pints in, you’re someone else”) with lustful brass and sprightly percussion.
It wasn’t until the band whirred into action that I reflected on how rare instruments actually are at mainstream pop gigs – too often, sanitised stars perform solo, backed only by computers or a few feeble guitars. Dean’s old-school credentials meant that her soaring vocals found a home among multiple bassists, guitarists, a drummer and keyboardist, three horn players and a trio of backing singers, while she played acoustic guitar, keyboard and tambourine herself.
On Carmen, a gorgeous love letter to her grandmother’s courage in upping sticks from Guyana to move to the UK as part of the Windrush generation, the audience was permitted a glimpse of the real Olivia: enamoured of music, a little overwhelmed by the 5,000 faces singing back at her. It was on introspective songs such as this (along with The Hardest Part and I Could Be a Florist) that her true talents shone through.
Dean is one of those rare artists who sounds good on record, but absolutely magnetic live – a gift that saw her dazzle Jools Holland this past New Year’s Eve, when she appeared on his annual show to perform a cover of The Supremes’ You Can’t Hurry Love, and now has her gearing up for a Pyramid Stage slot at Glastonbury next month. She is a rising British talent well worth supporting – before she gets so famous you can never get tickets to her gigs.
Playing Gillett Square, London E8 on the afternoon of Friday May 3, the Hammersmith Apollo on May 4 & 5 (returns only), then summer festivals; oliviadeano.com
