Soulful singer gets feet tapping.

I MUST confess to only knowing one song by Eliza Doolittle before going to this gig, and knew it better for the old chap who sings ‘Pack up your troubles’ in the chorus.

Upon arrival I became aware that I was bringing the average age of the crowd up by at least ten years, despite only being 26 myself.

However, after one very good support act (Aaron Wright) and one very odd one (Hall of Mirrors) the crowd was in good voice, and the atmosphere by the time Eliza Doolittle took to the stage, tassels and all, was buzzing.

Her music is unashamedly optimistic, upbeat and uplifting and impossible to resist singing along to.

And I wasn’t alone - the audience was so vocal that it prompted Miss Doolittle to state that Leamington had taken Manchester’s crown for best crowd on the tour so far.

Special mention also ought to go to one particular backing singer, who exemplified the whole experience with his huge smile, crazy jazz hands and general ‘dance like no-one is watching’ attitude.

It is her first headline tour, and I get the feeling there could be many more to come. Her biggest drawback was the lack of material, meaning that she was performing a lot of forgettable album tracks, but the longer she’s around the better the back-catalogue she will have to work with.

Jamie Smith

Verdict: Great fun