I felt like I was going to be in for a treat tonight with Out of the Blue and I wasn’t let down. I seem to have unintentionally become a bit of a fan, probably hooked by their charity single rendition of Shakira’s 'Hips Don’t Lie', released 10 years ago. For a student group with academic yearly turn-around, this time of year should be their best; I didn’t recognise anyone from previous years, not that I’ve been following that closely. The Bullingdon club was a different type of venue from where I have seen them recently. For those who need to know, there are four stools to the left of the bar, otherwise it is a stand-up with a studenty vibe, although this evening there was some more inter-generational boogying. There was an intimacy to this gig, the audience wasn’t massive (you all missed out!), the lucky ones were at touching distance, right up at the front. I was a bit put off by the multi-coloured smoke, usually watching their different facial and body language reactions to each other is part of the act. The audio also seemed slightly off, particularly with their warm-up act (Oxford Belles) where the balance between soloist/chorus wasn’t quite right and they had to strain their voices a bit to be heard. Anyway, it was a pleasure to be introduced to the Oxford Belles with particularly strong lower female vocalists. Their 2000s mash-up ('Unwritten', 'Superstar', 'Survivor', 'No Scrubs') was like scrolling through my Youtube history and really got me in the mood.

Out of the Blue kept the party going. Even the low-key cool bartender looked up, unexpectedly impressed by their opening mash up of Gnarls Barkley’s 'Crazy' with Beyonce’s 'Crazy in Love'. Out of the Blue specialise in high energy bangers (there was a very strong rendition of Bon Jovi’s 'Living on a Prayer') but I really leaned in to the softer moments. I think this type of a cappella group which rely on sing-along tunes really show their strength when they introduce you to a song you don’t already know. For me tonight this was a sensitive version of Billie Eilish’s 'When the Party’s Over' movingly sung by a heart-throb curly haired young man. Don’t get me wrong, there were also the classic ear-worms, I was singing 'Dance the Night' (Dua Lipa) all the way home. They also had their crowd-pleasing '500 miles' (Proclaimers) and their Frozen medley which the regulars will definitely be familiar with.

There is something that is very joyful about seeing people really just going for it in a performance. At a time of significant societal concern around masculinity and what that means for boys and their futures, they could do worse than look to the young men of Out of the Blue as role models. Watching these slightly awkward posh boys in suits leave behind any self-consciousness, be willing to not take themselves too seriously, excel in a very impressive skill and have a lot of fun besides, is truly inspirational. Add to that the fact that they have raised over £180,000 for Helen and Douglas House, I think they deserve to be applauded and recommend you all join me in the fan club.