A sea of sequins, glittery cowboy hats and glow up devil horns can only mean one thing, Steps were in town and boy did they bring the party.
From the moment the lights went down and the massive disco ball went up, P&J Live was transformed into a sparkling soiree as the iconic pop group transported the audience to a boogie wonderland with their What the Future Holds tour.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor starts the party
Wearing a dazzling blue sequin dress and skyscraper gold platforms, Sophie Ellis-Bextor – who was spotted shopping in the city’s Union Street yesterday – kicked off proceedings in sensational style.
Shimmying her way through the hits that made her a disco queen such as Murder On The Dance Floor’ and Take me Home, it wasn’t long before seats lay empty as the crowd followed her lead and dusted off their dancing shoes.
Steps greeted with screams
Warmed up and raring to go, deafening screams rang out as the crowd counted down the seconds until Lisa, H, Claire, Faye and Lee suddenly appeared on stage in all their shining, shimmering and show-stopping glory.
As bright and glitzy as their co-ordinated purple sequins outfits were, their opening song What The Future Holds, a catchy, toe-tapper of a track released last year.
Without coming up for breath, the fabulous five pressed the rewind button, taking people of a certain age back to their school disco days with the 90s hit One For Sorrow.
Boot Scootin’ baby
“Aberdeen are you ready for love?” shouted H as they ripped into some of their latest hits including Heartbreak In This City, Come and Dance With Me and Take Me For A Ride.
After a quick sequins swap – purple for black and white – they were back on stage with their incredible backing dancers for a 60s-inspired section featuring the “I-love-it-but-shouldn’t” song 5,6,7,8.
Cue the spinning stage for another oldie but goodie, Until The Love Has Gone before the tempo was brought back up again with the Abba-esque Something In Your Eyes, a sugary-coated pop treat.
Chain reaction caused a frenzy
And just like any great party, it just kept getting bigger and better as the mighty marching band take on Chain Reaction sent the crowd into a frenzy.
One of the highlights of the night came when H joined Lisa, Faye and Claire in wearing a ballgown for a Bridgerton-esque take on It’s The Way You Make Me Feel.
To rapturous applause, H thanked his fans for “always making me feel that I could live my best life.”
Better the devil you know
Taking the energy back up again was the infectious The Slightest Touch’before winding it down again with their next single A Hundred Years of Winter’.
After catching their breath, the crowd were soon on their feet again with the classics such as Stomp, Better The Devil You Know, Heartbeat, Love’s Got a Hold of My Heart, Summer of Love, Better Best Forgotten and Deeper Shade Of Blue.
With five minutes to go, the band appeared back on stage wearing red leather coats as they belted out another golden oldie, Here and Now.
All the glitters is pure Steps gold
Whipping off their red coats to reveal the glitteriest gold outfits I’ve ever seen, Steps finished the party as they started it, with everyone dancing and singing their hearts out to the one and only Tragedy.
Ears ringing and feet pulsing, I left the concert high on life, thankful that once again the city can come together and party as one.
And judging by the “afterparty” outside on the way to the taxi rank, I certainly won’t be the only one singing Steps for a good wee while.
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