“This is the greatest show!” boomed Michael Ball and Alfie Boe as they began their performance at the P&J Live arena in Aberdeen last night in energetic fashion.
And among the thousands of fans who had packed into the north-east’s newest entertainment venue for the crowd-pleasing gig from the two stage veterans, it would have been hard to find a dissenting opinion.
The tone for the night was set with a lively display from Celtic rock support act Johnny Mac and The Faithful, who had toes tapping from the outset.
After finishing the opening number, made famous in smash hit movie The Greatest Showman, Ball commented on his spectacular surroundings.
“What did Aberdeen do to get a place like this?”, he asked.
“It’s better than where we were last time”, noted Boe in reference to the old AECC.
The pair’s chemistry was as strong during their bickering banter as when they were delivering their string of soaring duets, with Ball as a charming showman playing off the more deadpan northerner Boe.
Anthems from stage musicals such as Sweeney Todd, Phantom of the Opera and Fiddler on The Roof followed, culminating with a few very well-received tunes from Les Miserables.
It appeared like they had chosen to end the evening in fitting style with a rousing rendition of My Way.
But the pair are hard to keep off the stage and they returned for a victory lap in the form of a medley from Grease – which had audience members of all ages standing up and jiving as the curtain fell.