Sixties soul fans are in for a supreme disappointment next week.

The legendary all-girl group The Supremes had been due to perform at St George's Hall in Bradford on Tuesday, together with fellow soul stars the Three Degrees and Baccara.

But bosses at the venue have discovered that Lynda Lawrence, Sherrie Payne and Freddi Poole, who had been billed as The Supremes line-up, will not be appearing.

The Three Degrees and Baccara will still perform as advertised. But the third slot in the show will be taken instead by Kaaran Ragland, Kathy Merrick and Van Jewell under the name The Sounds of The Supremes.

Lynda and Scherrie, whose pictures were featured in posters and other promotional material for the show, have both been in The Supremes since the early 1970s but pulled out of the tour after being offered the chance to form another version of the group with Diana Ross.

Embarrassed managers at St George's Hall today apologised for the switch in the line-up for the show, billed as the Greatest Hits 2000 Tour.

They said it was due to circumstances beyond their control and offered a full refund to anyone who wanted to return their ticket.

The rest of the concert remains unchanged.

Baccara's line-up boasts original member Maria with new recruit Marissa, while the Three Degrees are made up of Helen Scott-Leggins, Valerie Christie and Cynthia Garrison.

Bradford Theatres general manager John Botteley said: "It is obviously a disappointment to us that the line-up has changed at such short notice and we are particularly disappointed for our customers. However, it is a situation which is unavoidable and completely beyond our control."

Any customers who wish to cancel their tickets because of the change in line-up should ring (01274) 752672 to receive a full refund.

Paula Richards, of London-based Tony Denton Promotions, said: "I know Bradford are saying that they didn't know but we did inform all venues of the change.

"The new line-up is not what you would call a tribute band because the lead singer, Kaaran Ragland, used to be in The Supremes with Mary Wilson and is the only person in the world to be officially allowed to use the name."

See tomorrow's Telegraph & Argus for an interview with Helen Scott-Leggins of the Three Degrees.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.