Soul Train, at the Palace Theatre, Manchester

ALL ABOARD! The next train stops at Soulsville!

Three Degrees sensation Sheila Ferguson last night blew the whistle and dropped the flag for the start of Soul Train - a new musical celebrating the history of soul.

Sheila - remember When Will I See You Again - and her cast of half a dozen soul sisters and brothers belted out more than 40 blasts from the past.

Together with sensational dance routines and a brilliant backing band the show quickly hit a full head of steam pulling on passengers along the way as the audience clapped and danced throughout - and whistled to Dock of the Bay.

For a show the routines were fast and thrilling, sometimes moving , sometimes funny. But the soul connoisseur had to accept it wasn't Otis, Marvin, Aretha or any other legend on stage. They had to accept it was a celebration of the legends' music - and a successful celebration at that.

For me, the most moving moments were the Martin Luther King backdrop to Donald Waugh's version of Why Can't We Live Together and Louise Marshall's touching rendition of Cigarettes and Coffee.

Now to book a return ticket!

ALAN SIMPSON

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.