Sean Paul in Newcastle: Unlimited towels, ‘sexy ladies’ and great music

As everyone excitedly anticipated Sean Paul’s appearance on stage, a DJ and what I would describe as a ‘hype man’, got the crowd all fired up! It was a two-hour wait from doors opening at 7pm, to Sean Paul coming on stage at 9pm, but it passed quickly as the DJ played tracks that everyone knows and loves. The crowd were singing along to the likes of TLC, Craig David and Show Me Love by Robin S, before they couldn’t take anymore and began to chant: “Sean Paul! Sean Paul! Sean Paul!”.

The main man arrived on stage, accompanied by two dancers, a DJ, backing singers, a full band and a Jamaican flag. He came wearing a cap, sunglasses and a full orange outfit. The cap was flung into the audience, much to the excitement of the person who caught it, and to the dismay of the rest of the fans. But fear not, as we were about to find out that throwing things into the audience was Sean Paul’s thing.

He went on to perform his greatest hits, such as Like Glue, Get Busy, Gimme The Light and We Be Burnin’. But as Sean Paul is also widely known for his collaborations with other artists, he also performed a fair few of those, such as his track with Anne Marie - Rockabye, his track with Sia - Cheap Thrills and his track with Dua Lipa - No Lie. I wondered prior to this what Sean Paul would do during the singing parts of those songs, as his rap section is usually somewhere in the middle. Would he go and have a quick break? But no, he decided to sing their parts too, which I have to say I was quite impressed with.

The production was fantastic, and the talent that joined him on stage was incredible. Firstly, the two dancers - they really emulated the early noughties dancehall routines that were featured in Sean Paul’s early music videos. Not only did they perform the ‘twerk’ to the highest of standards, but they also threw in some gymnastics! One dancer even went on to jump off a high point on the stage into the splits! It looked painful, but very impressive.

The rest of the band were great too, especially the backing singers. I’m not even sure if that’s what you would call them, as when you picture backing singers you imagine a few people - off to the side of the stage doing the ooh and aah’s. These two guys were not that at all. The first one was completely amongst it, up there with Sean Paul, hyping the audience. While the second stayed with the DJ (up until the moment the DJ excitedly ran to the front of the stage - to everyone’s surprise).

Sean Paul’s music is fantastic, and is definitely the type to get everyone dancing. However, what made this gig unforgettable is that it was a little bit chaotic. A bra, a phone and a two-pint cup were thrown onto the stage (which was a little bit rude and dangerous, in my opinion), Sean Paul did a shot on stage and dedicated it solely to ‘sexy ladies’, and they seemed to have an unlimited supply of white towels, that they would throw into the audience after one wipe of sweat from the face.

The show ended on two of Sean’s biggest tracks. The first his 2012 banger, She Doesn’t Mind, which he introduced by asking his backing singer “Do you think the stage manager will let me do another song?” to which he replied, “She doesn’t mind”, cheesy for sure, but it worked to get everyone buzzing for the song. Temperature was of course his final song as it is definitely his most popular and successful of all of his tracks. Everyone was on their feet, dancing away to the longest rendition of the track I’ve ever heard (which was good, because it’s the song no-one ever wants to end).

Overall, it was a fantastic show. Sean Paul is a great performer, who knows how to play to a crowd. It was a gig I certainly won’t be forgetting any time soon.