Graham Clark, Music Correspondent
Sugababes Push The Button In Leeds
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The Sugababes
Photo: Graham Clark
The group quickly dispelled any doubts that they couldn't recreate the magic of one of their concerts in a larger venue.
As the curtain dropped at the Leeds Arena revealing Mutya Buena, Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan on a centre stage, the atmosphere became electrifying. With two huge mirror balls lighting up the stage, the spotlight was always going to be on the trio.
The harmonies that became their trademark were intact, the dance moves were reserved and refined, and the songs were as memorable as ever. Overload, their first single, was aptly the first song of the evening. What followed were some of the best pop songs of the last two decades: Hole in the Head, Red Dress and Ugly rose in quick succession with little time for any introductions. The quick resume of some of the Sugababes early tracks might have been appreciated for the faithful – it was interesting to observe that many in the audience were not even born when these tracks were first released.
Their last single, Jungle, had no reference to the track being a new recording, which seemed a shame given the house-pop track is comparable to the group’s early work and should be celebrated rather than being thrown aside, which seemed to be the case. Another new song, Weeds, showed a different side to the trio with a lyric that confirmed the strong bond between them and was a reminder that their musical journey is far from over with more new music to come. A cover of the Adina Howard track, Freak Like Me, got things back on track, with Push the Button sounding as regal as ever.
With no encore, it was left to About You Now to close the hit-drenched set on a night when all the right buttons had been pushed.