Scarborough News journalist Louise French was at the show and shares exactly what it was like to be 10 feet away from her childhood hero.
I grew up with Will Smith. He’s just a couple of years older than me, and I’ve followed both his music and film careers almost since day one.
So when I heard that he was coming to Scarborough I could hardly believe my ears.
I called the kids and heard excited squeaks on the other end of the phone, and I became everybody’s favourite parent as I secured four tickets in the standing area.
Scott Mills hyped the show all week on Radio 2, giving a massive shout out to travel presenter Ellie Brennan who transformed Will Smith’s Miami into Ellie Brennan’s Scarborough, and I’ll be honest, I was as excited to hear that live as I was Will Smith (or so I thought).
Ricky and Melvin from Radio One kicked the show off with some decent tunes and had the crowd singing along to Wonderwall and Valerie – Scarborough was in the mood to party.
Then came Scott Mills – a warm welcome and a countdown to Ellie Brennan who entered the stage wearing a silver sequin skirt and a Scarbados t-shirt …. “C’mon Scarborough let’s av it….” she cried – and we didn’t need telling twice.
The crowd cheered – the crowd danced – we oggied – we oieed, and we loved every minute – you can watch the full performance from Ellie Brennan here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNz2CdtWGst/
And then it was time for the man himself. After a half-an-hour break that lasted a week, the build up to Will Smith began.
Flashbacks to the Fresh Prince (yes we all knew the words), Shark Tale, Independence Day, Men in Black (He does make it look good!), Bad Boys and so many more flashed across the screen and then – wearing a red West Philly baseball jersey – he was there.
The crowd screamed, I screamed, the kids screamed and Will Smith stood there and encouraged us to scream louder – and we did (although I don’t know how).
I’ve been at sell-out Open Air Theatre shows in the past, but never before have I been hit by the wall of sound that came straight at the stage – deafening doesn’t even begin to cover it.
And there he was – the Fresh Prince – exactly as I’d imagined he’d be – fun, friendly, normal and just loving life.
Every lyric, every word was sung back to him, the crowd encouraged to engage and join in.
We did everything from Gettin Jiggy Wit It to It’s Not Unusual – Miami to Men in Black (for which Will Smith was joined by members of Scarborough Rugby Club looking very smart in their black suits and sunglasses).
We joined the crowd participation songs – we remembered James Avery (Uncle Phil) and gave each other a hug – and we saw an Oscar.
It was, without doubt, the best show I’ve seen at the Open Air Theatre.
As I left the show I overheard a conversation from a young woman talking to her sister “It wasn’t very good … you wouldn’t have enjoyed it,” she said.
I looked at her open mouthed – “Not really, “ she continued… “It was absolutely ******* amazing...”.
Turned out the sister hadn’t been able to get tickets and she’d just wanted to really rub it in (we all have a mean streak!)
And we weren’t the only ones who had a good time – Will Smith enjoyed it too – as he said on his instagram – “Yo, Scarborough it was CRAZY in there last night. It felt like Home. I consider myself a ScarBro”
