The Four Tops, The Temptations and Tavares, Arena Birmingham - review

Matching outfits, synchronised dance moves and a series of wonderful harmonies were flavour of the evening as each of the iconic groups performed at Arena Birmingham, backed by a series of talented musicians.

First up was seventies Rhode Island stars Tavares, made up of three of the original five brothers.

Dressed in striking white suits and black shirts, the trio kicked off the evening with a series of beloved hits sang with skill.

Songs including Check It Out, It Only Takes A Minute, Whodunit and Don't Take Away The Music had fans singing and dancing along, creating a lively party atmosphere.

And between the three of them, each of the brothers' varied vocals created a tremendous array of harmonies as they showed off a selection of impressive dance moves.

Never Had A Love Like This Before, More Than A Woman and Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel delighted fans before Tavares drew their great 37-minute show to an end.

Next up was iconic Motown act The Temptations backed by a far larger band, including a nine-man horn section and percussionist.

Donning matching yellow trousers and patterned jackets, the vocal quintet kicked off their set with Here I Come, which went down an absolute treat with the lively crowd.

And the group’s infectious happy energy filled the venue as they moved around the stage in time, while encouraging fans to do the same.

The Way You Do The Things You Do and Just My Imagination had the audience singing along, before they impressed with a stellar rendition of funky 1972 hit Papa Was A Rolling Stone.

With the audience on their feet dancing to the beat, The Temptations rounded off their set with perhaps their biggest hit of all time My Girl, giving a great ending to a wonderful performance.

It was then time for the final act to take to the stage: The Four Tops.

“Good evening everyone, it’s really good to be back here - wonderful in fact,” beamed founding member Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir.

“You may see me sitting down from time to time this evening, as I broke my hip a few months ago and my balance is still off.

“But I ain’t broke my voice so I’m still here.”

And though he did need to sit for a few of the songs, it didn’t stop the lively atmosphere as he sang well and the others moved in time, all of them dressed in matching mustard trousers and sequinned gold shirts.

They opened the final set of the night with Loco in Acapulco, before treating fans to wonderful renditions of Baby I Need Your Loving, Bernadette, It’s The Same Old Song and Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).

The group even took a break from their own material to perform a great cover of Mack The Knife, made famous by Bobby Darin.

Favourites Reach Out I’ll Be There and Standing In The Shadows Of Love came next, before The Four Tops ended the night with I Can’t Help Myself - all of which the delighted fans sang and danced along to.

A wonderful evening filled with great entertainment, fabulous music and excellent entertainers.