Born in Chichester, West Sussex, on November 24, 1990, Tom Odell learned to play the piano as a child and later studied at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. Celebrated for Top 10 hits like “Another Love” and “Real Love”, his 2013 debut album Long Way Down topped the UK Albums Chart and went platinum in three countries, driven by the success of the record’s cinematic single “Another Love.” “Real Love,” a cover of the Beatles’ original, reached Number 7 in 2014.
Two years later, Tom Odell released 2016’s Wrong Crowd, which peaked at Number 2 in both the UK and Switzerland. Jubilee Road, his third album, was released in 2018 and peaked at Number 5, followed in 2021 by Monsters, which climbed to Number 4 in the UK.
In “Monsters”, the piano is elegant and expansive – hopeful one moment, melancholy the next, and always profoundly affecting. Odell was inspired by composers Erik Satie and Philip Glass, and he and his songwriting partner Laurie would put Studio Ghibli films on as they wrote, to channel not only the “beautiful landscapes and vistas” of those animations but also “the feeling of corruption and sadness”.
Don’t miss this stunning performance of Odell’s most personal album to date, taking him to some frank, painful places.
Date and time: 19:30 Wednesday, 7 June
Location: Dubai Opera
