Madonna and Britney Spears' concerts just wouldn't be the same without them.

Thanks to hands-free radio microphones, the pop divas can carry on singing while they perform high-energy dance routines.

And for that, they can thank a pioneering Brighton man.

Reg Moores invented early cordless radio mics, built from a combination of firemen's belts and discarded RAF transmitters and niftily stitched into performers' costumes.

George Stevens, who died last week aged 88, was one of two artistes who gave the technology its first public test during the 1949 Aladdin On Ice show at Brighton's old Sports Stadium.

Mr Stevens, playing Abanazar, and "Slave Of The Ring" Masie Brown had the equipment strapped to their bodies and sewn into their outfits.

Mr Moores, 81, of Horton Road, Brighton, said: "George was one of the leading skaters of the time and it made sense for him to use this equipment so he could perform too.

"Ice skating spectaculars had become big business in America but a lot of the performers were Olympic or world champion skaters who weren't very good singers or actors."

Some skaters would mime their lines, with a small team of people in a nearby "dubbing box" actually speaking the words.

But producer George Palmer, who staged the shows alongside managing director Tom Arnold, insisted on some skaters being able to speak and be heard without holding unwieldy micro-phones.

Mr Moores, who was also a skater, theatrical agent and lighting director, said: "I came up with these radio mics which were based on the square BBC mics but on springs.

"I put together a frame with an aerial antenna on the outside and strapped one round Masie's waist and stitched it into her costume.

"I got hold of an old fireman's belt which we used for George, fitting it in a flap in a cloak he was wearing.

"For the radio link-up I used old RAF ground receivers and fed them through an amplifier and attached battery packs.

"There wasn't much sophisticated technology then."

He insisted the equipment broadcast the performers' words consistently, clearly and with no breakdowns. In fact, sometimes they were too effective.

Mr Moores said: "They fitted into the costumes so snugly it was easy to forget to turn them off off-stage. George often left his on.

"The audience would sometimes hear a few choice words they weren't meant to."

Only once did the opposite problem occur, when Ms Brown's unit was accidentally switched off during dressing.

Fortunately, Mr Stevens' microphone picked up her voice well enough for the audience to hear.

Mr Moores created his first radio microphone in 1947, operating on 70MHz.

In 1972 he gave two of his earliest radio microphones to the Science Museum in London, where they are on display.

The Guinness Book of Records credited him for his creation - though he never bothered to apply for a patent.

Mr Stevens continued to skate for many years and many of his fellow performers attended his funeral at Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton on Monday.

He lived with his second wife, Hua, in Dyke Road and is survived by two daughters.

Mrs Stevens, 50, a Chinese acupuncturist, had met him when he came to her for treatment to an injury.

She said: "He was always very charming and energetic."