Handsome Harry gives heart-throbs a good name

Say what you like about reality television, at least it brought us Harry Styles. The boy who didn’t make the cut as a solo singer on The X Factor, then finished third as a member of One Direction, has become the biggest name ever launched by the reality machine.

Last year, Styles stepped up from mere stardom to the top floor of the firmament. His third album, Harry’s House, was Britain’s biggest seller of 2022, putting even Ed Sheeran in the shade.

His last stint in the stadiums, Love On Tour, went so well that he is now back for more. In Coventry he attracts a crowd so vast that the football ground can’t cope. The queue for the turnstiles is longer than airport security.

Not that the fans are bothered. They’re a broad church, from fiveyear-olds to hen parties, middleaged mums and hordes of teens. You feel a little left out if you’re not wearing a feather boa.

Some stadium gigs are all about the music; others are a spectacle with some songs attached. Styles’s show is all about confidence. At 29 he knows that he doesn’t need gizmos or gimmicks.

He’s not even wearing anything ridiculous – just beige leather trousers and a hooped tank top, as if he

was doing a cover shoot for Look-in in 1973. It’s just him, his band, a video screen and a runway. The band is big, with 11 musicians, including a brass quartet. The runway is long, three sides of a square. The screen is huge, so everyone can see his grin. Harry smiles a lot.

In an era when pop stars no longer need to be good-looking, this one gives heart-throbs a good name. He’s not just handsome but witty and charming, too. Unlike, say, Beyoncé, who reads her remarks off an autocue, Styles can spot a banner and start a conversation. ‘Baby due today? Are you sure this is wise?’

After trying on different kinds of music like costumes, he has now settled on a sound. It’s 1980s-style synth-pop with a twist of funk – breezy, warm and gentle, just like him.

Songs from Harry’s House that seemed middling at first grow stronger on stage as the horns add soul. Matilda turns into a lovely soft singalong, Late Night Talking a gleeful strut. Styles proves himself a good enough singer and an effortless mover.

With What Makes You Beautiful, 1D’s first hit, he sets off a tidal wave of teenage nostalgia. With As It Was, the tune that defined 2022, he stirs a million recent memories. With Watermelon Sugar he shows that he can remain genial even when he’s being filthy.

Other tracks, such as Fine Line, are a bit thin, but you forgive him because he’s so good at being a star. Can he do it on a Monday night in the West Midlands? Yes he can.

The album of the week is an unusual beast: a glossy, hard-rock

record about bereavement. It’s Foo Fighters yelling goodbye to their drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died last year.

And it’s a triumph. By coming up with choruses and riffs as big as his feelings, Dave Grohl turns grief into gold.