Last updated 19:41, Thursday, 01 May 2008

Sugababes, Sands Centre, CarlisleIn front of a capacity crowd at the Sands Centre, Heidi, Keisha and Amelle strutted on stage to huge applause and cheering, and perched themselves in front of a white satin curtain.

After a few seconds it lifted up to reveal the real Sugababes, who launched into Hole in the Head. They looked fabulous in billowing red, purple and green dresses before whipping their skirts off, Bucks Fizz-style, to reveal tight black outfits – just one of several cheeky moves that delighted the audience during the 90-minute set.

Using three lookalikes was a clever idea and used to good effect throughout the show.

While the trio have strong, distinctive voices they are not the best dancers in the world and left the trickier, more choreographed steps to their dancing doppelgangers, who delivered some impressive routines.

And it allowed the girls to concentrate on what they do best: singing catchy, sassy songs. But they also had fun strutting their stuff in colourful outfits. Their many costume changes included slinky leopard-skin dresses, shimmering disco ball skirts, kimonos covered in flowers and leaves and red flamenco dresses.

They did a cover of Don’t Let Go by En Vogue and rattled through all the favourites, including Overload, Round Round, Stronger, Freak Like Me and Red Dress.

Sugababes’ vast back catalogue was a reminder that the trio – albeit with different line-ups – have been riding high for much longer than most of their contemporaries, scoring dozens of hits over 10 years.

The favourites were of course saved for the end, and by the time they were belting out Push the Button and About You Now the atmosphere was electric.

ROSALIND GIBB