The Saturdays got a packed-out Manchester Apollo Up dancing on a Sunday evening as they came to the city on their Greatest Hits tour.
Girly glamourous and full-on energy, what the five-piece lacked in hardcore choreography they more than made up for with sassy staging and topless male dancers.
Over the last six years, The Saturdays have put out hit after hit, time has flown by and they have grown with their fans, with the break-ups, the babies and even their own television show.
Over 100 minutes, Frankie, Molly, Una, Vanessa and Rochelle gave fans a selection of some of their catchy chart bangers and reminded the crowd just what a varied and extensive back catalogue they have.
The place erupted when the scantily-clad fivesome, rose up on a shared podium in classic girl group style and kicked the whole thing off with What Are You Waiting For, immediately getting the audience on their feet.
The most stand-out thing you can say about the Saturdays is their undeniable chemistry – they have been through it together and they really do enjoy each other’s company and being on stage together.
No barbed looks, vying for solo time and backstage whispers last night, they all genuinely seem to get on and that positive energy radiates from them in the live shows and is reflected by the crowds.
A real hit with fans was the infectious and flirty Work, which was accompanied by some pretty exceptional aerobic-style dance routines.
The dancers are a huge part of The Saturdays experience and those exuberant and talented guys really put on a show.
Once again you can see that they are all one big family and the girls cajoled the audience into singing happy birthday for a ripped body-popper, which was when we got to hear the Sats do some accapella harmonising – something that would have been great to hear more of.
Forever Is Over was an emotional affair with some pretty spot-on vocals, that was neatly followed by the inspirational Higher before the girls crammed five hits into one mega medley – proving just what a lengthy discography the girls really have.
When it came to fashion the girls delivered, sporting more than five different outfits throughout the show – each one more sparkly and colourful than the last.
The staging was great and the visuals that accompanied the songs were fabulously engaging.
A definite highlight was when the girls broke into a bit of Britney’s Hit Me Baby One More Time in the middle of their Disco Love track, that brief slice of old school was a welcome blast from the past for all concerned.
There was also a lovely moment when Una and Mollie picked up real instruments and started strumming away as they performed the title track of their debut album Chasing Lights underneath the glow of thousands of lighters and mobile phone torches provided by the audience.
The band saved the best until last – closing the show with their high-octane club smash All Fired Up, followed by arguably their biggest hit What About Us which had the crowd bouncing off the walls and singing along like no one was watching.
The pop group have had a busy year as of late, with the announcement of Una’s second baby and Frankie’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing this winter.
And with the pitter-patter of more tiny feet and their own separate side-projects, this 19-date tour felt like one last hurrah before the band’s ‘amicable split’ announcement.
If this is in fact the case, the chart-toppers certainly went out with a bang.
Image courtesy of stacey1889 via YouTube with thanks
