The Corrs, The O2, review: Fans that kept faith are rewarded with the hits

The thing about zeitgeist is that it doesn’t age well. The Corrs were of their time, the pop-for-adults of a late Nineties music scene that was becoming flooded with aggressively manufactured boy bands and girl bands. And while some artists (like, say, the Pixies) can return from hiatus to accept the plaudits of a public that wasn’t quite ready the first time around, other artists have simply had their fifteen minutes.

The fans that filled the enormous O2 have kept the faith for a decade, however, and after a preparatory tattoo from drummer Caroline Corr, the band took to the stage to run through a combination of songs from their comeback album White Light and their hit-heavy back catalogue. Album opener “I Do What I Like” and “Give Me A Reason”, from 2000’s In Blue, kicked things off and established the tone. Lead singer Andrea gambolled and spun with aplomb; Sharon stood magisterially off to the side, violin in hand; Caroline hit the drums hard; and (erstwhile conspiracy enthusiast) Jim filled in the musical blanks with almost no camera time on the big screens.

It’s enjoyable stuff, if relentlessly lite-radio, from a band comfortable with the mechanics of the arena show. Phone torches waved for the slow dance “What Can I Do” and the microphone was turned to the crowd for repeat choruses that have stayed lodged in the brain.

A change arrived as Caroline emerged from the drum riser with a bodhrán hand drum, ready to justify the Celtic element of the band’s image. A trio of trad instrumentals beginning with “Lough Erin Shore” reminded us that there’s a great pub-corner session group beneath the “adult contemporary” sheen. Andrea Corr, the pop star, actress and celebrity, took a step back, chose a tin whistle from her selection and joined in on the melody. It was a palate cleanser that went down especially well, it seems, with the flag-waving Mexican contingent up front.

After another trio of songs on the most Irish subjects of mourning, emigration and (in emotive Irish language) loss of wealth, we reached the business end of the concert. The guitar riff from a surprisingly hard-nosed “Only When I Sleep” rang out and those of the mostly middle-aged fanbase who had been conserving their energy began to rise to their feet. “Dreams”, the Fleetwood Mac cover that helped propel the band to international stardom, maintained the energy.

From here on out, it was open goals. “I Never Loved You Anyway” and “So Young” brought the main set to a close before a stamping, baying crowd drew the band back out for more, including their sole UK No 1, “Breathless”, and the rock-trad fusion of “Toss The Feathers”. It all looked effortless and the Corrs could probably do this once a year until the end of time. They lack the fevered stadium emotion of compatriots U2, but theirs is not a fanbase necessarily looking for catharsis. The O2 still wanted the hits, even 19 years after Talk on Corners went nine times platinum, and it got them.