Magazine


Proud to be Aloud


2/ 6/2006

REVIEW: Girls Aloud, MEN Arena

SARAH Harding, one-fifth of Girls Aloud, heroic keepers of the pure pop flame, gasps: "I can't believe its been four years."

Seasons have come and gone but neither their material, nor their tans, have faded.

And they don't mind acknowledging their manufactured origins. The show opens with a Weird Science skit, involving a scientist creating the perfect women on a computer: voila, up spring The Aloud out of a trap door, pop's sexiest Cyberwomen. They launch into peerless single Biology which showcases the masterful production talents of Xenomania.

Whirring through complex dance routines involving male dancers and a slew of skimpy costume changes, the stops are pulled out.

Then Cheryl Tweedy (pictured) wades in with an early contender for gig quote of the year: "It's great to see so many of you and so much merchandise in the audience!"

A fun medley of musicals has the middle-aged women in the audience sitting up like meercats with the first strains of Flashdance. Halfway through, they brilliantly cover The Kaiser Chiefs' I Predict A Riot. Then Cheryl hams it up throughout the Devo-esque barnstormer Models, every inch the game girl, as opposed to fab Stockport-bred Sarah who, in a purple basque, the stylists have made look like a girl on the game.

Nicola Roberts is as glorious as ever: her face a vision of "so what?"

The only clunkers are the slow covers - See The Day and the Children In Need Pretenders-retread I'll Stand By You - wholly redundant when they have their own towering ballad in Whole Lotta History., minor quibbles as the fact is, this night is tantamount to pop's holiest day.

Gary Ryan


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