Gig review: Olympic Torch Concert, Edinburgh Castle

IT’S A setting that’s more used to hosting Scots stalwarts Rod Stewart and Simple Minds (not to mention the odd Tattoo performance), but if Aberdeenshire lass Emeli Sandé can capitalise on her meteoric rise to fame, she may well be back at Edinburgh Castle with her very own full-scale concert some day.

As it was, she was here to headline the celebration evening marking the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the city, along with a host of other family-friendly acts. Edinburgh kids’ choir The BIG Project kicked things off, while 2010 Britain’s Got Talent runners-up Twist and Pulse raised the tempo with some energetic comedy streetdance.

With all that to fit in, not to mention the small matter of the appearance of the Torch – carried by Lesley Forrest, the day’s 115th torch bearer – it proved to be a short, but sweet, set from Sandé. But that didn’t stop her stealing the show. Her debut album, Our Version Of Events, might have gone platinum, but this was a performance worthy of a gold medal.

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The 25-year-old was in fine fettle, opener Heaven showcasing her prodigious vocal and songwriting talents. But it was new track Wonder, complete with catchy hook, that fired the imagination.

A quick thank you to the thousands-strong crowd meant there was just enough time to squeeze in chart-topper Next To Me, inspiring mass participation with a Mexican wave.

Rating: ****

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