Mark Ronson, Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Tuesday May 6
The hottest music producer of the moment got a superstar's reception as he took to the stage at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall on Tuesday night.
Thirty-two-year-old Mark Ronson has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame with his stunning second album Version.
Thanks to ingenius collaborations with sizzling artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Kasabian and Daniel Merriweather, Ronson's star has soared.
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His latest long-player has gone double platinum with three top ten singles and earlier this year he became the first artist who doesn't actually sing on his record to win a Brit Award.
Ronson was born in London but moved to New York when he was eight, which explains his Transatlantic twang, and by 1993 he'd made his name as a DJ on the Big Apple's club scene. Influenced by funk, hip hop and rock, he has been hired for numerous A-list celebrity parties - and even DJ'd at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' Wedding.
So it was with a star-studded pedigree Ronson arrived at the Civic Hall - expectations were high and, in the main, he didn't disappoint.
Dressed in his trademark 60s-style suit complete with drainpipe trousers and skinny tie, Ronson has a quiet charisma and schoolboy good looks. But he certainly knows how to get people on their feet and he put his all in to his performance - he was dripping with sweat by the end of the 70-minute set.
Although no one expected the likes of Amy Winehouse to turn up, it was a little disappointing that Ronson relied on a succession of unknown singers to perform his now iconic versions of famous tracks.
Lack of stars aside, Lily Allen's version of Oh My God was superb, as was Phantom Planet's Just - featuring a young guy who fancied himself as a cross between Usher and Michael Jackson. His slick dance moves certainly had the girls at the front of the crowd in a frenzy!
Ms Winehouse's Valerie was also one of the favourites of the night - although the singer's voice couldn't quite match up to Amy's unique vocal.
Temperatures rose as Ronson's razor-sharp group of musicians rattled through his big band' meets hip hop creations. The black American influences were evident in the staging too - as Ronson's posse joined him to whip up the crowd.
But, for my money, the best song of the night was left until the encore. Stop Me, usually featuring Daniel Merriweather, was a corker - powerfully sung by another of his young discoveries. Ronson's ear for talent may just be his greatest skill.
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