Belfast is glad The Wanted came

The British and Irish five-piece, Max George, Tom Parker, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuiness and Siva Kaneswaran, have been making headlines in recent weeks as they make waves in America, hitting number five on the Billboard chart with their UK number one hit, Glad You Came, which was even given a spectacular Glee make-over when it was performed on the hit show.

Thousands of fans filled the Odyssey as the sell-out show attracted a wide ranged audience, however screaming was at a premium as the Belfast crowd proved just how long they had been waiting to see the band perform on these shores.

In fact, Irish star Siva Kaneswaran appeared delighted by the reception, boasting to his bandmates about the Irish welcome as the band brought their ‘Code’ tour to Belfast.

The 90-minute show, which was interspersed with videos of the guys trying the crack ‘The Code’, was filled with all the hits, as well as tracks from the recent album ‘Battleground’.

Kicking off the night with Invincible, a track from the band’s second album, they kept the tempo up high with the single Lose My Mind, two new tracks Rocket and The Weekend, both of which could easily be single releases and the hit song Lightning.

Slowing things down, the guy’s performed new song Last to Know, Dagger, Heart Vacancy, a single from The Wanted’s self-titled debut album – and a surprising highlight - the beautiful I Want It All, I’ll Be Your Strength and the recent single Warzone.

Proving they are more than just the stereotypical ‘boyband’, The Wanted, who have written several of their own tracks, played instruments throughout the evening, including during a superb tribute to Coldplay where they performed Viva La Vida, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Paradise and Fix You, which had the Odyssey rocking and would surely have made Chris Martin proud.

As the night came towards the end, the band took time, amidst deafening screams, to thank fans for their support, telling the Belfast crowd how “amazing” and “unbelievable” they were, before performing fan favourite Say It On The Radio, Gold Forever, their Comic Relief offering last year and All Time Low, the superb debut single which hit number one upon its release.

Finishing the night on a high, the guys performed the anthem of last summer, the number one single Glad You Came, which had fans singing along at the top of their lungs as they danced and bounced along.

It may have been their first visit to Belfast but judging from this, it definitely won’t be their last - the Belfast crowd certainly were glad The Wanted came.

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