Bowie Experience, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - review

This Golden Years tour was a fast-paced and glittering Glam Rock romp that tripped through the early decades of his most memorable incarnations, kicking off with our Bowie for the night - Laurence Knight - as Ziggy Stardust - a flame-haired, androgynous alien rock star.

Laurence played the part immaculately - with both sound and vision, backed by a superb collection of musicians, wardrobe and sound producers.

He wore knee-high red platforms, shoulder pads so wide you could launch planes off them and would disappear in a rush backstage, returning as yet another impressive flamboyant persona through to the swinging and dashing blond 80s Bowie in wide, white chinos.

Laurence's cheeky sense of humour, authentic dance moves and respect for his fellow band members enhanced the experience for the packed house and many fans couldn't help dancing in the aisles - and in their seats.

Laurence called on Charlotte to "be Freddy Mercury" for a belting and unique rendition of Under Pressure, in which she almost - but not quite - stole the show with her own pitch-perfect vocal range.

James, in a shiny silver shirt, was an eye-catching maestro on keyboards and bubbly Emily played saxophone that resonated around the auditorium.

Each one of the talented, polished musicians was given a chance to shine on the stage and they played faultlessly.

The venue was superb for this intimate show and the acoustics couldn't have been better, providing an electric atmosphere.

Let's Dance was arguably the highlight of the night but there were countless showstoppers, including Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Moonage Daydream, Ashes to Ashes, China Girl, Modern Love, Fashion, and Heroes.

Laurence called on everyone to join in for his All The Young Dudes finale - and we all stood as we sang along.

Many Bowie fans still can't quite believe he has gone.

The pain is still a bit raw and obviously we all had thoughts of that.

I have never been a fan of tribute acts and have to admit that the thought of seeing one based on one of my musical idols was a risky gamble.

I was lucky enough to have seen Bowie play at Birmingham NEC, with my daughter, Phoebe as part of the Reality World Tour in 2003 when she was four years old.

But on a personal level, the gamble more than paid off.

This amazing show brought some of the magic of that one-off event - back for us.

As Laurence said: "You are here because you all love Bowie and guess what? We do too."

And one fan at the front yelled out to him: "We love you too".

That pretty much summed up a memorable night.

Tickets are already on sale for the Bowie Experience when it returns to Shrewsbury next year - I would thoroughly recommend making a booking.

Visit www.theatresevern.co.uk.

By Sally Williams