Divas of Motown

Divas of Motown at the Apollo Hammersmith last night brought together some of the (mostly) lesser known female stars of the great Motown sound in what proved to be a great celebration of the label's 50 years. Excellently supported by Jack Ashford's Funk Brothers Band, the show kicked off with 79 year old Mable John who was billed as the First Lady of Motown but who is better known for her Stax material, which made up most of her act, even if Able Mable was originally recorded, but not released, while she was at Motown. I've seen Mable quite a few times over the years and her voice is as strong as ever. Wearing an elegant white dress she was drawfed by Jack in his flashy red jacket, but there was obvious chemistry between them.

Next on was, for me, the star of the show, Brenda Holloway who, like many of the acts, is a Northern soul favourite. Looking glamorous in a gold dress her set kicked up with a couple of upbeat numbers (hopefully Dave will provide set lists for all the acts!) and followed up with the wonderful Every Little Bit Hurts and then moved on to Mary Wells' Operator and her original You've Made Me So Very Happy. Fantastic voice!

Completing the first half (apart from some well performed Motown songs by the backing group) was Chris Clark, Motown's first white act, who is also popular with Northern soul fans. Her first couple of numbers were rather weak I thought, but she got more into her stride after that. The second half kicked off with two of the eight women who can claim to have been Supremes - Scherrie Payne and Lynda Lawrence - augmented by Joyce Wilson, formerly of Dawn, who ran through the Supremes song book in good style. This was Motown for the masses I guess, but the three women, dressed similarly in purple dresses, gave their professional all. Finally it was the turn of Thelma Houston, a true diva to be sure, but not one associated with the great Motown years of the 60s. But she has a fantastic voice and her cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' Don't Leave Me This Way went down a storm. The show finished with the backing group inviting audience participation with My Girl and then the stars joined together for a finale. An excellent show - although maybe not quite top draw - and definitely one for lovers of Motown and Northern soul.