Review: I went to an Alfie Templeman gig in Liverpool and this is what happened

At the very young age of 19, Alfie has a couple of years behind him as a singer/songwriter. With hits such as 3D Feelings, Obvious Guy and Happiness in Liquid Form, you’re bound to have heard him on Radio 1, now you can put a name to a face.

Set in the small and compact O2 Academy, in a crowd so tight it was only comparable to the 699 at 5pm, I was awaiting the arrival of Alfie. For the first time in my life, at the mere age of 23 I felt like the oldest person at a gig. This must be how mature students feel wondering around the 502 building in September.

I imagine most of the other people who stumbled across this young star had found him accidentally when flicking through “Indie Mix” on Spotify. They were perhaps pleasantly surprised to learn that tickets to a local concert were only £22pp – well for me that was date night sorted: wildly less expensive than a few drinks and a couple of chips at Beer Engine, anyway.

Coming out to Cilla Black’s Alfie, a subtle nod to the capital of Scouseland, I even heard a few whispers in the audience of “is that him?”. Yes he has a distinctive singing voice, but despite being a fan myself, I doubt I could recognise him in a crowd of first year English lit students. He didn’t quite embody the art of stage presence, well, that was until he started to sing.

Alfie glided from track to track, many in the audience knew most, but some, like me, couldn’t sing along to most of the verses because they aren’t die hard fans.

The singing was hard to fault, but where Alfie could grow is the time between songs. I’m nosey. I want to hear some inspiration for his music, I like jokes or even a bit of flirting with the audience. His confidence comes from singing, he was able to command attention. What will be interesting to watch over Alfie’s still early career is how he continues to develop, especially between each song.

The audience loved him. A couple of girls behind us were shouting that “he’s dead fit”, not sure if he heard, but I imagine he would be certain to blush. After the demands for an encore, Alfie surprised us with not just another song, but three, even a newer one which is soon to be released. I came away thankful that I got to see this young performer before he becomes a big deal and this is reflected in ticket prices. But for now, I’m happy to be part of a smaller group of Alfie fans.

Featured image via Alfie Templeman YouTube