`One couldn't help but like them'

Welcome to the Sharleen Spiteri love-in. A woman inspiring such devotion among her fans that she could put the Rev Sun Moon out of business. This was not a concert for the cynic, but a service for those already converted to Texas's infectious brand of Motown-inspired hymns.

They were not to be disappointed as the band opened with In Demand, Black-Eyed Boy and Halo, the songs that launched Texas on to their current lofty perch and, seemingly, the relationships of half the audience.

Critics insist that Texas walk the thin line that lies between paying homage to 1960s soul and simply plagiarising it. But then, most of our modern icons choose to trample all over it. At least Texas do it incredibly well. One couldn't help but like them.

They also possess in Spiteri a singer whose powerful voice carried the congregation to their own personal paradises. It would have been easy to pad this show with album tracks interspersed by chart-toppers, but the band felt confident enough in their body of work not to do this. Guitar Song stood out for quality and no song was received with greater enthusiasm than I Don't Want A Lover, a clear case of Old Testament Texas.

The cynics should realise that when Texas make reference to Marvin Gaye or Smokey Robinson, they are quite deliberate and open about it. There is no deception. The same goes for Spiteri the unlikely sex symbol, flirting, pouting and shimmying to the crowd as if they were a multitude of Alan Rickmans. It's the Tiffany effect - a glamour women can attain, whilst men think that she herself is attainable, not quite out of their league. Neither Texas nor the crowd cared about cynical unbelievers, so convinced were they by the powers of the Holy Spiteri.