IN 1965 a brand new type of music show from America hit Britain with a 42-date tour featuring Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha Reeves, and many more.

It was called the Tamla Motown Revue, it stunned the pop music public, and helped to establish the Motown sound in the UK.

Opening with the infectious Love Train and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, this pacy show features four strong male vocalists, three fantastic girl singers, and a tight four-piece band comprising keyboards, lead and bass guitars, and a fine drummer.

Unfortunately, the band lacks a brass section, Motown soul really needing honking saxes, trumpets and trombones.

Choreography and costumes are slick. Outstanding numbers include Heatwave, Same Old Song, and Stop! In The Name Of Love, although the compelling songs Heard It Through The Grapevine and Under The Boardwalk are too fast and lack feel.

Motown classics It Takes Two, My Guy, and Get Ready work well, but the gorgeous My Girl yearns for its brass section on the key-change.

The feel-good fun finale features a lovely version of Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Amour and a brilliantly effective Jackson Five medley: I Want You Back, Blame It On The Boogie, and the achingly soulful I’ll Be There.

With the happy audience dancing in the aisles, the hooky encore was the inevitable classic Dancing In The Streets.

After 50 successful years, the magic of Motown lives on.

Brendan McCusker