The Three Degrees 60th anniversary tour

The Three Degrees hold the record for being the longest running female group in history. Formed in 1963 by Richard Barrett, they are now touring the UK for the umpteenth time celebrating their 60th anniversary. The original line up was Fayette Pinkney, Linda Turner and Shirley Poole but by the late sixties the classic line up of Fayette, Sheila Ferguson and Valerie Holiday was in place and it was Valerie who sang lead on their breakthrougfh hit, a cover of the Chantels' 'Maybe', in 1970. They were famous for being Prince, now King Charles' favourite group in the seventies and had hit after hit yet in all those years I've never seen them perform live, a glaring omission on my part.

I put that right last night at the intimate Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke and was pleased I had. The group's line up has changed often over the years and the current line up comprises Valerie Holiday (pictured below), who joined the group way back in 1967, Freddie Poole, a member of the trio since 2011, and Tabitha King, who has been filling in for established member Helen Scott since January of last year. Dressed identically in elegantly glamorous black sparkly gowns they ran through a selection of their many hits with all the confidence and professionalism you would expect from singers who tour constantly. The voices melded perfectly as did the choreography and this was a show that you felt they could do in their sleep. They kicked off with 'Can't You See What You're Doing To Me' and followed with 'Year Of Decision', 'My Simple Heart', 'Take Good Care Of Yourself', 'Get Your Love Back', 'Dirty Old Man' (with some audience involvement), 'I'm So Excited' and, of course, their biggest hit 'When Will I See You Again'. It was predicable stuff but enjoyable and a celebration of the Philly soul sound which the majority female audience clearly loved. I gather the ladies do not tour much in the States, but they are frequent visitors this side of the Atlantic. Judging by last night's show they will be back again soon as they embark on their seventh decade.