CityLife

The Four Tops + The Temptations + The Drifters + The Three Degrees

The Four Tops

The Four Tops / The Temptations
MEN Arena
March 21, 2010

As Suede played a one-off comeback gig at the Ritz, four hit-makers of varying quality got older music fans out of the seats dancing at the MEN Arena.

First up were The Three Degrees with their mixture of ballads and disco tunes such as Dirty Old Man (a dated ode to a bloke with wandering hands). The vocals are good and the trio certainly get the crowd ready for some old fashioned soul music, in the form of The Drifters.

Hold, on, they sound more like Westlife - because, like the Sugababes, their line up has changed more times than a banker’s salary. So, the young ones in the band prefer Coca Cola style ballads.

But they soon return to the classic Kissing In The Back Row which sees the audience reliving their dance hall days. Save The Last Dance For Me has the same effect and even though they are not quite the band you remember, they put on a good show if you forget the Flying Without Wings style dirge.

The Four Tops are up next and they make such a great impression that you do wonder why they do not close the set every night, as they are sleeker, slicker and more soulful than The Temptations.

They may only have one original member, but they know how to belt out classic hits like Baby I Need Your Loving and they receive lots of adoration from the fans, as their Vegas style set full of classics leaves you smiling.

The Temptations are the final act and their awful orange jackets and purple trouser combo make them look like panto stars. It’s downhill from here as even though they have the back catalogue, including Ain’t To Proud To Beg and Just My Imagination, they simply do not own the stage quite like the Four Tops.

Their dated dance moves and horrendous costumes do not do them justice and many audience members leave before the set is over. Papa Was A Rolling Stone is deftly delivered though and shows you what might have been on this soulful Sunday night.