Sharleen Spiteri, Newcastle City Hall

As soon as the drums kicked in for the second track of the evening (which happened to be Texas's Black Eyed Boy, but that was neither here nor there), the old Sharleen stepped out from behind her beehive-esque 'do to leave us in no doubt who was in charge.

"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head and adding, "Up" with a decisive finger.

I don't know whether it was her broad accent or her reputation of being a lady who takes none of the proverbial, but within seconds there were a couple of thousand people on their feet - and we stayed there for the best part of two-and-a-half hours.

Backed by a Mod-styled band to be proud of, Sharleen put in a blistering performance from the deceptive confines of her lady-over-rock-chick styling.

Striking a perfectly pitched balance between material from her debut solo album, Melody (particular highlights were I'm Gonna Haunt You, All the Times I Cried and Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore); classic entries from the Texas back catalogue (a Hillbilly version of I Don't Want A Lover, Summer Son and Say What You Want deserve special mentions); and some carefully chosen covers (high fives for These Boots Were Made For Walking, Should I Stay Or Should I Go and an encore which we'll come back to), Ms Spiteri may just have broken a record in the Wonfor household.

Never before have two charted entries on our top 10 gigs list come from the same stable (unless you count a Robbie Williams sound check and the return of Take That, which I don't).

But as things stand, the Texas gig which formed part of Radio Two's Newcastle residency in 2003, has now been joined by the Spiteri solo show.

Aside from a pretty stunning vocal performance across the board, and the aforementioned setlist selection, there's just something about this diminutive powerhouse of a performer which translates to the live incarnation of what she does being more than simply the sum of its (already pretty damn good) parts.

Hence, although I own and like very much my Texas records (as well as Sharleen's first crack at solodom), they don't come close to my top 10 long players.

But stick her on a stage in front of me and suddenly I become president of the Spiteri appreciation society.

It's simply impossible not to be sucked into the genuine energy and love this sassy lassie has for what she does. She wanted to do three encores just as much as we wanted to hear them - and in the words of Vanessa Williams, she went and saved the best for last.

It's a brave woman who attempts a live rendition of River Deep, Mountain High, but its distinctive opening bars didn't surprise me in the slightest.

There's more than a smidgen of metaphorical man bits under that shift dress, I wouldn't wonder.