THE lesson for the evening (for this reviewer at least) is that in trying to come to terms with the contemporary phenomenon of the "boyband", it is a mistake to focus solely on the music and not take in to account the sense of whole hearted communal idol worship they induce.
The recipe on Saturday night was deceptively simple: take four orange jumpsuits, three backing singers, two drum kits and one token guitar. Add about 800 pre pubescent screams, a score or so of parents with their fingers in their ears and every pop cliche in the book. Result? The East 17 Christmas pudding - lumpy, overcooked, and burstling with a tooth rotting saccharin sweetness that only kids could love.
But how they love it. From the moment Tony, Brian, John and Terry take to the stage the (mostly) female crowd lose themselves to a kind of mass hysteria that is as innocent as it is beguiling. The fever peaks right at the start when the band make an impressive entry via the video screen. From then on they just coast to the end, giving us their smattering of hits including Stay Now, I'll Do Anything For You and All Around The World, dropping the odd cover along the way (Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls for example).
Throughout, the chunky synth chords and deadpan percussion coupled with some impressive harmony work keep the atmosphere simmering just nicely below boiling point. You get the feeling, however, that all East 17 had to do was show up and the fans would leave happy.
