Scots singer 'saves the day' for Take That after Olly Murs cancellation

Scottish singer Daniel Rooney stepped in for Olly Murs to open the show for Take That at Glasgow's Ovo Hydro.

Scots singer ‘saves the day’ for Take That at Glasgow Ovo Hydro after Olly Murs cancellationGetty Images

A Scottish singer “saved the day” for Take That after Olly Murs was forced to cancel a performance in Glasgow at the last minute.

Murs, who has been supporting Take That on their This Life tour, was forced to cancel his act at the Hydro due to transportation problems.

When news broke that the pop legends were without an opening act, Scottish presenter Ross King had been watching Scottish singer Daniel Rooney play at the Radisson Hotel opposite the arena.

Impressed with his vocals, King recommended to his friend and Take That frontman Gary Barlow that Rooney could fill the slot, the Daily Record reported.

Rooney later shared a series of images and videos of him performing on stage to his Instagram Story, describing it as a “crazy night”.

“Hardly slept, still on a high from last night,” he added.

“Thanks to everyones lovely messages about the gig and all the support so far.”

He also thanked King for spotting him at the hotel and getting him to the venue, adding: “Craziest 30 minutes ever.”

Rooney added: “Also a big thanks to the @takethat lads for calming me down before the show and talking setlist tunes. Absolute legends.”

Barlow praised Rooney for stepping up to the plate, writing “this young man saved the day thank you” on his Instagram story with a photo of the musician.

Fellow band member Mark Owen also gave a “huge thanks” to Rooney for helping them out at the show, which is part of their This Life tour.

On Friday, Murs apologised for cancelling his performance at short notice after he had had flight issues all day.

Murs said he had been at London Heathrow airport from 11am ahead of the show but after “several delays” and an incident with a cabin crew member, the British Airways flight was cancelled.

The British singer had been updating fans throughout the day on his Instagram story, sharing a video from inside the plane which was “stuck on the runway” before exiting and attempting to board another flight.

“I’m trying my best to get to Glasgow,” he said. “Honestly, you couldn’t write this day.

“One of the ladies, one of the cabin crew has fallen over and hurt herself which, I hope she’s okay, but basically it has further delayed our flight. So we’re waiting for someone to come in to replace her.

“I’m extremely gutted, I don’t think I’ve ever missed a gig that I can recall, especially of this magnitude.”

He later shared a video of himself being driven to Glasgow for his Saturday and Sunday performances.

A British Airways spokesman said: “We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans, which was caused by a technical issue with the aircraft.”

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