Out of the Blue

• Phoebe Cooke
• 20 August 2012

This article is from 2012.

All-male a cappella group radiate charm with formidable vocals and infectious stage presence

Before a 500-strong, sold-out Saturday house, 15 young men shimmy onto a lights-down, mist-shrouded stage, to be greeted thunderously from what seems to be most of the visiting female population of Edinburgh. Out of the Blue is back.

In their eleventh year and ninth run at the Fringe, the pop-socking class of 2012 shone once again with resonant vocals, both in solos and thrilling harmonies, and choreography so unprofessional it’s inspired – particularly in the Phil Collins’ rich ‘2.0 Human Drum Kit sketch’. The students romp through a number of masterfully self-arranged pop renditions, from the Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls’ and Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, to chart-toppers more in the span of their (short) life-times such as ‘Something in the Water’ and the Spice Girls’ ‘Stop’. Bang-on-the-money harmonies, boundless charisma and classic choreography make for an infectious and uplifting fifty minutes of gold entertainment, but the truly hair-raising moments come in quieter songs like ‘Amazing Grace’, showing that, with their voices alone, the boys can reduce a vast auditorium to awed silence.

George Square Theatre, 226 0000, until 27 Aug (not 15), 2pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50).