THOUSANDS of glitter-encrusted nine and ten-year-old hysterical girls are a formidable sight on a Saturday afternoon.

But with some of the country's best girl and boy bands performing at the Smash Hits Tour Party in Manchester, the excitement was bound to be fever pitch with screaming levels at ear-drum shattering levels.

The Smash Hits posse stopped off at The Apollo as part of a national tour and was a roaring success with the theatre filled to capacity.

The young audience, with an average age of about ten, were treated to performances from 15 acts at the matinee show with appearances from up and coming popsters including Girl Thing and Supersister, along with huge stars such as Billie Piper, Richard Blackwood and A1.

Bomfunk MCs kicked-off the show with an energetic rendition of their big hit 'Freestyler'.

Shane and Keith from Boyzone performed a rather lacklustre version of their Milli Vanilli cover, 'Girl You Know It's True' and the audience started to look rather fed-up.

But all girl group, Supersister lifted everyone's spirits with a blistering version of their big hit 'Coffee.' American newcomers and boy band, B Factor looked like they could have won a few hearts among the girls in the audience with a lively song and dance routine.

And Girl Thing are certain to go onto bigger and better things with their energy captivating the attention of the youngsters.

Their hit single 'Last One Standing' certainly had plenty of the mums up and dancing which is always a sure sign of success.

Baha Men inspired a huge response with their now anthemic 'Who Let The Dogs Out?'. Just about everyone at the Apollo was up dancing and barking along!

Point Break induced many tears and much hysteria among all the young girl fans and had to be admired for being one of the very few acts to perform live.

The handsome trio might wear the obligatory all-boy band combat trousers, but they differ in their funky attitude and sassy dance moves.

Pranksters Atomic Kitten treated the audience to a cameo appearance in Point Break's set and the boys returned the compliment in the girls' show.

The audience, and probably their parents, might have been too young to remember 'What's New Pussy Cat' by Tom Jones which preceded Atomic Kitten's performance, but there was no doubt everyone was ready for a bit of fun from the Liverpool minxes.

The three girls put 100 per cent into their performance and made a real effort to get to the very front of the stage and wave and shake hands with as many youngsters as possible.

Richard Blackwood's arrival on stage coincided with ear-deafening screams and mass hysteria, but he remained as laid-back as ever and obviously fancies himself as Britain's answer to Will Smith.

If the audience had seemed excited for Richard Blackwood, then they became totally hyper for Miss Piper.

But the 18-year-old let the side down big style with a flat performance and lack of interest in her young fans.

Perhaps the teenage sensation feels she has now reached the stage in her career to attract an older and more sophisticated audience, but she is making a big mistake as the star-struck eight and nine-year-olds remain her core support.

Even the big hits 'Something Deep Inside' and 'Day and Night' sounded dull and in contrast to the warmness of Atomic Kitten, she came across as a bit of a snooty ice maiden.

But for any kids disappointed by Billie's performance, headliners A1 stepped in to save the day.

Hundreds of fans had been waiting for the all-boy band's appearance since early in the morning and a shower of teddy bears and banners heralded their arrival. The boys, and they really are boys and not men, have enjoyed a triumphant year with two number one singles and a successful debut album.

It did not matter that the screams were so piercing that their three song act could barely be heard because they really made the audience's day . All in all, a great afternoon of fun was had by hordes of young pop fans who all looked the part as much as the performers in their many sequin and glittery outfits.