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Rockin’ Ronan
Ronan Keating wows the crowd at Haigh
THE final night of the huge Tuned In concert proved to be a fitting end to the spectacular five-day event.
Crowds turned up in their thousands to watch Irish crooner Ronan Keating wrap up the festivities.
In what was possibly the biggest crowd-puller of the week, the Boyzone singer pulled out all stops to impress.
He flew in from Australia following his stint in the Aussie version of the X Factor and he put all his past troubles behind him to perform classic hits Love What You Do, Time After Time, and Last Thing on My Mind.
Fans bellowed to the chorus of If Tomorrow Never Comes at Ronan’s request and females went weak at the knees and screamed for his attention as he came down from the stage to shake hands with people.
But the Irish lad was humble over his recent heartache and told the audience: “Thanks for the support you have given me over the last month and the last 12 months. I have had dark days, so thank you very much. I really appreciate it.”
And he dedicated a song to bandmate Stephen Gately, who died more than a year ago.
Although the audience consisted mainly of women swooning over the Irish legend, a few men were dotted in the crowds, seen rocking it to a few tunes.
But a big surprise on the night was Orrell-born singer, Simon Jones, who promises to be the next big thing.
He warmed up the crowds ready for Ronan, with a good mix of cover versions and his own-penned tunes, helped along by his guitar.
The 26-year-old proved he has what it takes to make it big, telling the crowd: “I’m from Wigan, so it is great to be playing here. It’s really special.”
He played to a mellow crowd, singing The Script’s Man Who Can’t Be Moved, a tune which rocked the festival three days ago when N’Dubz covered the song.
He almost had the audience revved up to sing along to Jame’s Morrison’s duet Broken Strings, but due to a technical glitch, he had to abandon that and play his final song – Leave This Town, which was just as good, if not better.
Speaking after the concert, Simon said: “It was nerveracking, but I really enjoyed it. It was amazing. I think Ronan is a great artist. I had a chat with him and he was really nice.”
Despite the slight downpour which threatened to dampen spirits, the Tuned In festival ended on a high.
Pete Gascoigne, executive director of libraries, heritage and arts at Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, said: “I am very sad it is the final night. It has gone brilliantly. We have had such warm crowds. Everybody seems to have gone away with a big smile on their face.
“It might be the last night of the Tuned In Festival, but we still have the Jazz Festival and eight days of fantastic music.”
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Weather for Wigan
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
