IF it hadn’t been for just one thing, we might have been in some dimly-lit Parisian bar circa 1960, listening to Piaf herself.

Unfortunately though, that one thing, clearly out of the performers’ control, was extremely loud music of the “thump thump” variety emanating from the venue’s downstairs bar. It was very distracting, made concentration difficult, did nothing to help the French atmosphere that should have been created and was, to my mind, totally unacceptable.

Okay rant over.

Bethany Jameson and her accompanist, the brilliant accordionist Romano Viazzani, have put together a cabaret act that is so much more than just Piaf’s songs.

Bethany simply is Piaf from the moment she weaves her unsteady way from the bar, drink in hand, kissing familiar faces along the way.

On reaching the stage, and still wearing her coat, she launches into song, and between numbers chats in a charming broken English accent that works a treat, painting a vivid picture of a life teetering on the edge of tragedy.

Her voice has just the right timbre too, and the likes of La Vie En Rose, Les Trois Cloches, Milord and, of course, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien sounded just gorgeous. Just that one regret for me though.