Martha Reeves & the Vendellas in Bilston

It was great to see Reeves, rolling back the years at the grand old age of 71, and her girl band last night, on a journey that Wolverhampton should feel good that it was graced by.

In time when superstars stood on every corner, this band from the United States really were somebody's, all of 26 singles hits made their mark in their heyday from 1962 to 1973.

Today, the lead singer still leads the charge, she returned to full-time performing in 2010 after four years working as a politician for the council in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

It's a long way to Bilston from there and the Robin 2 pulled off somewhat of a coup in bringing a fairly big name from their time to their stage.

Of course, it's not the original line up, there were two new Vendellas – one from Leeds with the other from London.

A crowd of 500-plus people turned out on a Sunday night while most of their wallets were committed elsewhere in the festive season to make the effort and they were not disappointed.

Sing-along numbers like 'Nowhere To Run,' 'Jimmy Mack' and 'Heatwave' followed and Martha tossed in their take on 'Silent Night' to get us all into the festive mood.

'Dancing In The Street' was always their big number – it never made No but was included in the National Recording Registry for his its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.

That was the last ditty but there was a great medley of tunes in the encore that showed they can mix it with the men, 'Sugar Pie Honey Punch' and 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' formed a big part of it.

Martha still clearly loves it up there – at one point she urged us all to raise our glasses in a salute to hoe she views her life in show business.

And, as the old boxing adage goes, a fighter's punch is the last thing to go and the old songstress can still hit the high notes when called upon.

"This is a toast to the good life, you have given me a good life" she said. It certainly isn't over yet.

By Craig Birch