Teen idol Nik Kershaw gets crowd singing

The big spiky hair, the earring and the huge collars may be gone, but Nik Kershaw still knows how to write and perform good songs.

The former 80s teen idol proved this last night stage at Wolverhampton's Slade Rooms with just an acoustic guitar and a pedal loop for company.

A crowd of die-hard fans who had worshipped him in their teens were there as Kershaw helped them relive their youth.

His talent for songwriting is undeniable, although later efforts have a much more subdued feeling to them. It was only really 80s favourites Wouldn't It be Good and I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me that had the crowd at the half-full venue singing along.

Performed acoustically, however, these lacked the electro strains that epitomised the decade at which Kershaw was at his peak – and therefore lacked some of their punch.

Nonetheless, his ability to hold a crowd's attention, with witty and charming banter between songs is admirable, while his voice is just as good if not better than it was way back when.

The show ended on a cover of Stevie Wonder's I Wish, which seemed a bizarre choice given Kershaw's own extensive collection of songs and albums.

But the highlight of the night – and a surprising one at that – was a performance of the hit Kershaw wrote for Chesney Hawkes, The One and Only, which had the entire crowd singing along.