Sugababes, St George's Hall

Some people really do look good in anything, which the sickeningly beautiful Sugababes proved last night when they took to the stage wearing giant ballgowns made of what looked suspiciously like Clingfilm.

It was just one of a succession of 'out there' costumes the girls changed into during a cracking 90-minute set that led a packed-out audience on a thoroughly entertaining journey through the trio's greatest hits.

From the moment they appeared on stage in brightly-coloured puffball dresses, working the frilly toilet roll doll look, they had the crowd in their grip.

The puffball theme ran throughout the show, with the girls wearing everything from glitter ball dresses to Eighties-inspired silk ra-ra skirts.

Girl bands come and go but, after 22 hits - including more Top 10 original hits than any other all-female combo since the Supremes - the Sugababes have proved their worth. They've been around for a decade now, albeit with a changing line-up, and remain head and shoulders above the rest.

No matter how polished they sound on record, you're never quite sure how a band like this is going to cut it live so I was pleasantly surprised when Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah delivered a slick, high-energy set with strong solo voices and harmonies that never seemed to falter.

The crowd-pleasers came thick and fast, from Round Round and Hole in the Head to earlier hit One Touch and a touching performance of Ugly. They got blinged-up for Back Down, changed the pace for a beautiful performance of new ballad Change, wearing gorgeous floral kimonos, and went all leopard skin for a fabulously raunchy version of Freak Like Me.

They treated us to a classy version of En Vogue's Don't Let Go and cranked it up again for Red Dress. Decked out in what looked like yards of red silk, the girls strutted on stage to the rousing opening chords of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Two Tribes which blurred seamlessly into Red Dress, to the delight of the whooping crowd.

My only gripe was that the girls didn't talk to the crowd very much, or introduce the songs. I think the only time Keisha spoke was to wish someone in the audience - and her own boyfriend - a happy birthday.

But what they lacked in chat they made up for in performance. They ended with Push the Button and About You Now, jumping around the stage and waving to the giddy teenage girls going mad for them at the front of the stalls.

This was a classy gig showcasing the Sugababes' cutting-edge blend of effervescent and sophisticated pop, but it was also lots of fun. They may be leggy enough to pull off the tricky puffball skirt look, but these were just three twenty-something girls who were clearly enjoying themselves away from the soulless expanse of an arena concert.