Live Review: PP Arnold

PP Arnold brings a touch of the swinging '60s to Thornbury with a selection of much-loved tunes from the era. The girls in the front row wearing polyester minis and knee-high boots suggest that it's somehow still cool to strut down Carnaby Street humming these tunes. Resplendent in ruby-red sequins and black leather, Arnold still thrills with her powerhouse vocals. Tonight's gig follows Arnold's career and starts with a blinding version of The Ikettes' What'cha Gonna Do (When I Leave You).

It's kind of hard to believe that Arnold's career got started when she toured the UK with Ike & Tina Turner back in '64. Now a septuagenarian, Arnold's energy and talent remain undiminished by age. Declaring River Deep - Mountain High to be the best of Turner's output, Arnold and her hard-rocking band then casually deal an explosive version of the song.

Although Arnold made a name for herself on the UK's Northern soul scene with stellar cuts like Everything's Gonna Be Alright, it wasn't long before Arnold had all the rockstars of the day wooing her vocal talents. Arnold drops roughly all the same names as Pamela Des Barres, but both women come at the same scene from very different angles. Arnold just powers her way through classics like Angel Of The Morning, To Love Somebody and God Only Knows before skipping into Different Drum.

In '67 Mick Jagger put the word on Arnold to sign to Immediate Records where she got to know Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane from Small Faces. Fan favourite (If You Think You're) Groovy has Arnold's aging fans jumping for joy. Very much a singer rather than a songwriter, Arnold gets by on the songs that others have handed her. Her biggest hit The First Cut Is The Deepest was written for her by Cat Stevens. Along the way, Arnold has somehow managed to name drop the likes of John Paul Jones, Primal Scream, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood in some witty anecdotal banter.

Showcasing songs from last year's album The Turning Tide is a bittersweet experience. Originally recorded with Barry Gibb, it was to have been Arnold's third longplayer, but the album was shelved 'til last year. Arnold is clearly displeased that it's taken more than 40 years to sort the mess out, telling us that it's really the first time that she's been able to perform these songs live.  

Tim Rogers leads the tight four-piece that rocks hard with plenty of funk, providing exactly the right context for Arnold's vocals. Arnold's cover of Medicated Goo is better than Traffic's, with Rogers ensuring that it's a growling, funk-rock monster. Similarly, encores comprised of The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want and Small Faces' Tin Soldier simply blow the crowd away with explosive energy. The secret of Arnolds' stamina must be the quinary tea she's sipping, which, in her words, "keeps grandma big and strong". A stroll down memory lane with PP Arnold is a feel-good history lesson in soul, blues and also the British rock that it inspired.