It’s a bit of a big old week for favourite of the blog and all round good one Olly Murs this week.
Not only has the Essex superstar announced that he and his wife Amelia are expecting their second bubba later this year (congratulations and all that!), but this week also sees him kick off his sold out 15 Years of Hits tour around the UK and Ireland.
It’s a tour, which appropriately enough, will be marking the fact that this year is 15 whole journeys around the sun since Murs first burst onto our stereos after emerging from Witham and finishing second on The X Factor in 2009, taking in four number one singles, five number one albums, millions of record sales and sold out arena shows the length and breadth of the globe along the way.
So how are we marking this occasion, you may well ask? (Apart from going to the actual tour ourselves at The O2 at the end of next month). Well, in the 15 years since 2010, Murs has had an incredible 31 different singles out. And we’ve taken it upon ourselves to give you our definitive ranking of what we consider to be his best.
Full disclaimer now: this list is only our personal preference, and we’ll be as honest as possible. So if you agree, a hearty yay to you. If not: too bad. So brace yourselves people, as we prepare to cast an eye back over the singles career to date of Mr Oliver Stanley Murs…
THE TOP 31: You know we about to make moves…
31. DIE OF A BROKEN HEART
(Released: October 2022 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#20 – on Official Single Sales Chart)
Now, we will not beat around the bush here. Marry Me, Murs’ most recent album in 2022, was not our favourite for many reasons. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that, in hindsight, it was an EP of three – maybe four – good songs tops, sat amongst a load of filler. Its lead single however, was not one of said good songs. An autotuned mess that conjured up images of irritating one hit wonder Gotye (“Somebody That I Used To Know”), it was less a song and more an overly long jingle that was more concerned with chasing TikTok virality – which has never been the point of him. How it was considered an album campaign launcher over the far better “Dancing On Cars” or “Go Ghost” is beyond us.
30. I HATE YOU WHEN YOU’RE DRUNK
(Released: November 2022 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#55 – on Official Single Sales Chart)
And neither was the Marry Me album’s second single one of it’s better tracks. Embroiled in a hefty amount of controversy, owing to media misinterpretation over the lyrics that saw it get yeeted from radio playlists before it had even got going, it further underlined the great lack of quality control that surrounded Marry Me as a whole. Because as the rest of this list to come will testify, he’s capable of much better than that.
29. GROW UP
(Released: October 2016 / Highest UK Chart Position: #25)
The second single from the 24 HRS album was a disappointing follow up to the far superior first which we’ll meet later on. Lyrically, this petty sounding dig at an ex hasn’t aged well (“Know you gotta grow up / Ain’t ya sick of being immature? / Talking loud cause you’re insecure”), despite its hilarious video that featured an entirely junior cast directing Murs around a video shoot. It just seemed to smack of record label cold feet after the tenuous commercial performance of the first single in a shapeshifting chart landscape that was suddenly more reliant on streaming power.
28. UNPREDICTABLE
(Released: June 2017 / Highest UK Chart Position: #32)
The fourth and final single from the 24 HRS album found itself reswizzled into a duet for single release, with guest vocals from forgotten X Factor 2015 champ Louisa Johnson. Ostensibly done because she was supporting him on his summer dates that year, our choice for a summer release from the album would have been the Balearic sounding floorfiller “Deeper” instead. Not to mention that Louisa takes the “more is more” approach and rather overdoes her vocals majorly.
27. EXCUSES
(Released: December 2018 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#39 – on Official Single Sales Chart)
Those who’ve taken time to investigate Murs’ previous albums – there’s seven of them, fact fans – will know he is just at home on a slower number as he is on an uptempo banger. The trouble is that many of his best ballads (off the top of our head: “I Need You Now“, “The One“, “If I Stay“, “Let Me In“) have largely not been picked as singles – this second release from his You Know I Know album being a case in point. With lyrics reading like dialogue from a breakup scene on EastEnders (“I’m going out of my mind every secret that you’re keeping / Oh why won’t you let me in?”), it doesn’t really get going until the final chorus and loses what potential impact it may have had.
26. HEART ON MY SLEEVE
(Released: March 2011 / Highest UK Chart Position: #20)
A soaring power ballad co-written by James Morrison and John Shanks, that began life tucked away on the barely remembered album of American Idol finalist Michael Johns, is probably not the best omens for a track that wound up as the third single off his debut album. Again, it’s a song that works well in the context of an album, but perhaps not as a single – hence why that, combined with his lack of promo availability owing to being on a desert trek in Kenya for Comic Relief around the same time – meant this became his first single to miss the top 10.
25. MOVES
(Released: October 2018 / Highest UK Chart Position: #46)
Not for the first time in his career, Murs found himself working with Ed Sheeran – albeit at vastly different stages to when they first worked together on his first album track “Love Shine Down“, when the latter was still a mere unknown. “Moves” was both the lead single off the You Know I Know album – a premature greatest hits package amalgamated with his sixth studio album – and the theme from the movie Johnny English Strikes Again. With a guest rap from Snoop Dogg, it was a bit of a retread of older, much more successful ground he had with guest rappers that we’ll cover later on in this list, and whilst this smooth sounding floorfiller was fun at the time, it hasn’t exactly aged all that well.
24. UP
(Released: December 2014 / Highest UK Chart Position: #4)
“Up” marked Murs’ first collaboration with a female artist, in the form of ex-Disney star turned pop princess Demi Lovato. Released just a month after the first single from the Never Been Better album, it was released in time for the Christmas chart, and stuck around for ages and became one of his biggest selling hits. All that said, it’s saturation overplay at radio and the way it overshadowed the other singles off the album, means it is probably the one single from this era that we revisit the least.
23. BEAUTIFUL TO ME
(Released: June 2015 / Highest UK Chart Position: #93)
One of our favourites off the Never Been Better album – he pulls off some insane falsetto high notes on the chorus – the only reason we’ve ranked this lower down is owing to the fact it came a lot later in the campaign than it should have done as a single (it was the fourth) and so lost whatever momentum it might have had from the singles before it. Also the video wasn’t one of his best. Moving on…
22. MORE MESS (Kungs feat. Olly Murs and Coely)
(Released: August 2017 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#93 – on Official Single Sales Chart)
Presenting a couple of songs before our top 20 that are lesser spotted but brilliant contributions Murs made as guest vocalist, the first for French DJ and producer Kungs in the summer of 2017. “More Mess” was a sprightly, summery, carnival sounding bop with an earworm hook line, that was modest in size as a hit but deserves a proper reinvestigation.
21. INNER NINJA (Classified feat. Olly Murs)
(Released: November 2013 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#38 – on Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart)
And here’s the other. Canadian rapper Classified had a massive hit in his native country with this single, which originally featured roots singer David Myles. A charming mix of rap, funk and cheerleader style choruses, Murs re-recorded the guest vocal for the UK release – and even starred in a partially reshot version of its video alongside an adorable gaggle of mini “Inner Ninjas”. Again, worth taking time to reinvestigate this one.
THE TOP 20: So just follow my lead…
20. STEVIE KNOWS
(Released: December 2015 / Highest UK Chart Position: Uncharted)
One of six new songs added to a special tour edition of the Never Been Better album one year on from it’s original release, we say it’s a crime “Stevie Knows” didn’t make the cut the first time around. A proper four to the floor disco belter, it was just a shame that it didn’t really get properly pushed as a single because it had more than had the chops to be a much bigger hit.
19. I FOUND HER
(Released: March 2023 / Highest UK Chart Position: Uncharted)
The third and final single from Marry Me – albeit one that was only pushed at radio – is one of the album’s better songs. A dizzying sounding electropop banger with lyrics dedicated to his now wife Amelia, it’s only someone with a very strong resistance that can deny getting that “I said OOOH I found her, everything about her / Makes me OOOH the power” hook line embedded in their cranium.
18. COMING OFF THE SNOW
(Released: December 2022 / Highest UK Chart Position: Uncharted)
We’ve been gently asking (READ: nagging consistently) for time for a Christmas album from Murs. But the first tentative steps towards that came as recently as two years ago, when he recorded this gorgeous original festive winter warmer, written by no less a figure than Elbow front man Guy Garvey, for the soundtrack of Sky movie This Is Christmas. With any justice, this will overtake the annual mid-November / December Mariah / Wham duopoly with the passing years.
17. HAND ON HEART
(Released: November 2013 / Highest UK Chart Position: #25)
Capping off a phenomenal year of success with the Right Place Right Time album came this, its fifth and final single, which had a gospel choir and extra bells and whistles chucked on for its single remix. This hands in the air torch ballad is one of Murs’ best, and is accompanied by a frame-for-frame recreation of Robbie Williams‘ “Angels” video – with the man himself making a cameo appearance (little surprise then, that it was directed by the original’s director, the legendary Vaughan Arnell).
16. FEEL THE SAME
(Released: March 2019 / Highest UK Chart Position: *#94 – on Official Single Sales Chart)
It’s a crying shame really that the You Know I Know album was left for dust by Sony Music in favour of pushing the greatest hits disc that accompanied it; not least because it had some of his lesser spotted but brilliant collaborations. This sparkling disco groover, written and recorded with Nile Rodgers of Chic, is a case in point, and by any other measure should have been absolutely huge.
15. ARMY OF TWO
(Released: March 2013 / Highest UK Chart Position: #12)
The rousing, anthemic curtain opener on both the Right Place Right Time album and its accompanying arena tour, “Army of Two” was also its second single, and has sadly been heard hair nor hide of since the spring of 2013. Written as an ode to the #MursArmy (“March with the band, and raise your right hand / We’ve only just begun”), plus a video that saw a literal army of Murs striding through an underground car park, it surely deserves another turn in the spotlight on this new tour.
14. YEARS AND YEARS
(Released: December 2016 / Highest UK Chart Position: #83)
The song that should have really been the second single from 24 HRS, “Years and Years” is a heartfelt midtempo with a winter warming feel that was a dedication to a future love on their wedding day. It’s one of his most powerful slower sounding numbers and thankfully has retained a regular setlist place ever since.
13. KISS ME
(Released: October 2015 / Highest UK Chart Position: #11)
Signalling the turn towards icy cool electropop that followed on his next album, this lead single from the special edition repack of Never Been Better marked a new sonic chapter for Murs. A slinky, seductive late night soul number co-written by Taio Cruz, it was a new direction but one that was heartily embraced by his audience.
12. RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
(Released: August 2013 / Highest UK Chart Position: #27)
The title track and fourth single from his third multi platinum album could quite easily have been the theme tune to this time of Murs’ career; travelling the world, scoring hits in every country imaginable and touring not just on his own but as support act to Robbie Williams on his stadium tour for his Take The Crown album, he really was in the right place at the right time.
11. BUSY
(Released: May 2011 / Highest UK Chart Position: #45)
The unusually low peak of this single – his first to miss the top 40 entirely – begets the universally known “Busy”, which rounded off his debut album era as its fourth single. Featuring a memorable promo video based on cult indie flick Lars and the Real Girl, this perky laid back bit of acoustic shuffle pop also found itself soundtracking TV ads for M&S along the way to boost its near ubiquity even outside his main fanbase.
THE TOP 10: We’ve got a special treat for you tonight…
10. THINKING OF ME
(Released: November 2010 / Highest UK Chart Position: #4)
Any worries that his debut chart topper would be difficult to followup proved immediately unfounded with this, Murs’ second single. A jaunty cut of reggae pop that was written as if addressing an old holiday or gap year romance (“Do you still pick up the seashells on that pebble beach? / Remember when that crab came up and pinched your feet?”) it sent him back into the top 5 once more.
9. SEASONS
(Released: April 2015 / Highest UK Chart Position: #34)
Although openly trashed by Murs in interviews in recent years, “Seasons” is, for us, one of his strongest singles. Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic is on co-writing duties here, for this brooding, almost country-ish sounding bit of pop that was the third single off Never Been Better, reasoning forgiveness from a lover with an irresistible looped banjo riff and “wooh-ooh” hook line.
8. OH MY GOODNESS
(Released: April 2012 / Highest UK Chart Position: #13)
There was once upon a time where no Murs tour setlist was complete without “Oh My Goodness”; in fact time was that he would perform this in other countries where he was still a relatively new artist, and the whole crowd would be singing it back word for word. This toe tapping slice of Motown pop about love at first sight, coupled with a memorable video of him giving chase after a potential love interest in Westfield Stratford (which we absolutely haven’t tried to recreate – READ: we have) seems to have been all but relegated and deserves to be reprised for this tour. And, on an totally unbiased note, it was the title theme to a little ITV2 show he did which we featured in(!)
7. PLEASE DON’T LET ME GO
(Released: August 2010 / Highest UK Chart Position: #1)
We can still remember hearing “Please Don’t Let Me Go” for the first time when Murs bought it into Capital FM for its first ever radio play. Rare is the time when we say and in turn predict with some confidence that a record is going to be a number one hit just on one listen to a track, but in this case, the signs were all there. It established him with a new identity as an artist in his own right independent of The X Factor in that great way debut singles should.
6. YOU DON’T KNOW LOVE
(Released: July 2016 / Highest UK Chart Position: #14)
There’s a common misconception that because 24 HRS was, on the whole, a much darker album lyrically and musically than what had come before, that it wasn’t Murs’ best. We say far from it. In fact, a record like “You Don’t Know Love” proved that he wasn’t afraid to take risks and deliver some absolute out of the box bangers. A brooding, intense kiss off to a former lover, complete with a Chris Isaak referencing monochrome video shot in Las Vegas, it deserves far more plaudits than it has ever got from certain quarters.
5. WRAPPED UP
(Released: November 2014 / Highest UK Chart Position: #3)
Although hoisted by a Band Aid 30 shaped petard from being his fifth number one hit, “Wrapped Up”, which shared a sonic kinship with “Love Come Down” by Evelyn “Champagne” King, was a proper disco belter that had a tongue twisting guest rap from Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy, and proved that after a year’s break from the chart he could still deliver the bangers.
4. DEAR DARLIN’
(Released: May 2013 / Highest UK Chart Position: #5)
Every pop artist we’ve ever been a fan of has always had their what-we-call “dial turn” moments, where a song or two of theirs crosses over to a mainstream audience and connects in a massive way. We’ll discuss the other such record shortly, but “Dear Darlin'” – a Massive Attack inspired ballad co-written by Murs with Ed Drewett – resonated with many who identified with its themes of loss and longing, and in a summer full of songs about getting lucky and blurred lines, this rose above the pack to become one of his biggest hits outside of his chart toppers.
3. TROUBLEMAKER
(Released: November 2012 / Highest UK Chart Position: #1)
We’ve always said that Claude Kelly, the US based songwriter who has been behind hits for everyone from Whitney Houston to Britney Spears, is the Brian Higgins to Murs’ Girls Aloud. His best singles have always had Claude and Steve Robson’s involvement. And this, his fourth and to date most recent number one, complete with a guest rap from buxom chested Flo Rida, was responsible for taking him around the world and also becoming a big hit in America.
2. HEART SKIPS A BEAT
(Released: August 2011 / Highest UK Chart Position: #1)
If you’ve got this far into the list, you’ll notice there’s two records left to cover, and both are from In Case You Didn’t Know, the triple platinum second album that really lit the torch paper on the huge success that has kept Murs in public affection for as long as he has been around for. This lead single and his second number one featured the then nascent Rizzle Kicks, then riding high with their debut album, and was quite simply a match made in pop heaven.
1. DANCE WITH ME TONIGHT
(Released: November 2011 / Highest UK Chart Position: #1)
Well. Did you think it was going to be anything else, really? We’ve already discussed in some depth in another entry on this blog about “Dance With Me Tonight”, and what we wrote in that entry still stands. But to pick up on the “dial turn” moments we discussed, this was absolutely the moment Murs gained a single to his name that would go onto become universally loved and known by all generations, in the same way “Reach” by S Club 7 and “Love Machine” by Girls Aloud did; a birthday and wedding disco staple but one that still stands proud today as a magnificent pop moment and the brilliance he is capable of at the top of his game.
Olly Murs’ 15 Years of Hits Tour – with support from Blue on all dates – kicks off this Thursday 24th April at Plymouth Pavilions, finishing up at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday 25th May, with dates continuing into the summer. Tickets available at www.ollymurs.com.
The Niche Reference 