Striding out of the barside dressing room marked under her name and onto a stage in front of a DJ wearing a t-shirt marked Fever Boy – the name of her fiendishly catchy single of two years ago – Laura Bettinson faced the somewhat daunting spectacle of recreating her decadent disco style in a largely empty room.
A tongue-in-cheek yet devout acolyte of Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and ABBA who has also conspired with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, the London-based singer aimed high and fell short with a cover of Aretha Franklin’s Respect by way of part-introduction, but warmed things up quickly with some sharp dance moves and repeated serenading of one of her fans.
A saccharine backdrop of shimmering pink and yellow curtains and a dress which made Bettinson resemble a human glitterball adorned in high street fashion helped, as did the torchsong electro of SOS, which showed off her tremulous vocal range.
“I wasn’t expecting this many people to turn up,” she proferred, her sarcasm levels impossible to deduce.
The set ultimately ended after less than half an hour – a brief flourish of fun in a setting ill-disposed to the kind of doo-wop glamour Femme aims to capture.
Two stars
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article