Date: 18 December 2003
Originally published in: Manchester Online website (UK)
Written by: Blaise Tapp
Pop socks and shoulder pads were not the only things to come out of the 1980s as this collection of yesteryear’s idols proved last night. The big hair may be thinning slightly but the 10 acts that took to the stage proved they can still put on a show by treating an enthusiastic audience to a three-hour spectacular.
After a typically slow, gentle opening set from China Crisis, the show sprang into life courtesy of T’Pau and the lively as ever Carol Decker. Favourites such as China In Your Hands and Heart And Soul warmed the chilly atmosphere, which got hotter following the appearance of Curiosity Killed The Cat.
Female pulses raced when heartthrob Nick Heyward belted out four classic tunes, including Fantastic Day. Perhaps the highlight of the evening for many was witnessing Heaven 17 attempt to blow off the arena roof with a rousing version of that dance floor classic, Temptation.
Showman Howard Jones, who appeared on stage riding a scooter and wearing a see-through cagoule, easily won the title of grandest entrance of the night.
Energetic sets from a slimmed down Five Star and the timeless ABC paved the way for schoolboy’s favourite Kim Wilde.
Kim wore a revealing black leather number, and she sent the crowd into raptures with her five songs.
The gravely voiced Paul Young, who led the thousands gathered in a sing-a-long of his greatest hits Wherever I Lay My Hat and Every Time You Go Away, brought the night to a close.
