WHEN you put some of the greatest songs ever written in the hands of someone with a voice like Michael Bolton, add a backing band and singers who are all at the top of their game, then you are in for a real treat of a night.

From the very first second he strolled on to the stage, Michael encouraged every single person in the BIC to join in with every word of every verse and chorus that he belted out from the stage. To be honest they didn’t need much encouragement and were singing along at every opportunity.

Most of the set list did comprise of covers including Otis Redding and Steve Cropper's ‘Dock of The Bay’ and Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’, so we were a good few songs in to the gig before we heard the first track composed by the man himself.

The irony of it actually being a massive hit for Laura Brannigan first time round was not lost on Michael as he explained that despite being signed to a label it took him 18 years to actually have a hit single.

‘How Am I supposed To Live Without You’ went down a storm as did the next section of duets with Sam Fly.

Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell’s ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and the Adele cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Make Me Feel My Love’ both put in an appearance.

A musical interval that gave each member of the band the opportunity to show their individual prowess while also giving Michael a bit of a break went on a bit too long for some but was well received by the crowd.

However, all was forgiven when the opening bars of ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ rang out and a spotlight picked out Michael in the middle of the crowd. The entire audience was immediately out of their seats with people from the terraces making their way down to the front.

‘How Can We Be Lovers’ and ‘Steel Bars’ kept the pace going to the end of the main set which was pretty short at under an hour.

They were only off stage for a matter of seconds returning for bands intros and an encore that included ‘Time, Love and Tenderness’ and ‘Soul Provider’.

This was a great night of music but just a little too short. Having said that no one else in a crowd that consisted of all ages seemed to mind. Everyone left happy to have seen a great artist singing some fabulous songs.