Almost a quarter of a century after its first gig and by now an institution in South Wales, the ten-piece band led by lead vocalist and focal point of the band, Michael McNamara , played to a full house at the Riverside Suite.

It was immediately obvious from the first number, when audience members were out of their seats(and some on their seats) to dance and sing along, that the audience was largely made up of their loyal following who knew exactly what they had come to experience - a string of great soul classics played with minimal letup and maximum energy .

It all began , as is customary with this band, with the horn section(as tight as ever ) making their weaving processional entry through the audience from the back of the hall to join the rest of the band already on stage.

And from there on it was pure delight as they ran through what seemed like the complete catalogue of soul classics. Particular highlights included 'Superstition' ,with some wonderfully authentic-sounding bass lines, Sam Cooke’s 'Twistin’ the night away' , Arthur Conley’s 'Sweet Soul Music' with that fabulous brass riff that almost insists that you spring out of your seat and dance, and The Trammps’ 'Hold back the night' in which horns and two female backing singers squeezed every ounce out of the smouldering classic.

McNamara was ,as ever, the ebullient master of ceremonies with his familiar gravel-voiced singing interspersed with high-pitched yelps. Maybe the biggest feature was the unanimity of performance from the whole band which exuded confidence and experience gained from years of playing on the circuit.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening then - one would expect nothing less from a band so in tune with this joyful music.