Review: Katy B's Little Red tour at Manchester Academy

A RARITY in the world of dance music - a singer who can actually sing - Katy B ended her Little Red tour at the Manchester Academy tonight in fine style.

Katy's carefully crafted subgenre-hopping productions are firmly rooted in the nightclub, but are always secondary to her vocal talent - and what a talent that is.

She is pitch-perfect throughout her hour-and-a-half set, despite some serious bounding around the stage during her more upbeat tracks, managing to sound fantastic while pulling off dance moves that Britney could only do if she was miming.

And she does it all with a big smile on her face - there's something endearing and wholesome about Katy, a bit like a Blue Peter presenter, and it would be a hard-hearted cynic indeed who did not find themselves smiling along with her.

Fun is the name of the game here, and Katy is playing hard - firing off to an energetic start with Hot Like Fire and 5am, she is soon throwing in a cover of Baby D's Let Me Be Your Fantasy (choooooon!) and Easy Please Me ends with a barnstorming drum 'n' bass climax, accompanied by some serious strobing while Katy leaps around the stage like a maniac.

This is great stuff, and it's a shame that the momentum is lost a little after this high with a couple of ballads, including the admittedly excellent Crying For No Reason.

The pace soon picks up again, however, and by the time the breakbeats of Emotions are rolling, the Academy is in full swing again.

Katy on a Mission is worth the price of admission alone - you've got to hand it to producer Benga for coming up with this cracking pop dubstep tune and propelling Katy into the limelight.

Kathleen, as her mum probably doesn't call her, has carved out a great niche for herself with her unique brand of clubland vocal pop, and if she continues to churn out hits and performances of this quality she will definitely be filling a stadium near you soon.