The Pipettes at the Brighton Dome

It was ten minutes after walking into the cavernous Dome to see Brighton’s polka dot clad girl group, The Pipettes, whilst surrounded by one of the most freakishly diverse audiences I’ve been a part of, that I realised I’d never truly been to a pop concert before.

There were the obligatory doting young girls that accompany every pop concert, running around in polka dot outfits emulating their heroes. And yes, there was a large contingent of gay men, running around in polka dot outfits emulating their heroes. But joining them were people you’d only usually see at a hip hop gig, mingling with long haired lads in Slayer t-shirts, elderly women with short arms and lacy gloves and balding business men, who, reminiscent of their Japanese counterparts, obsessed with photographing young girls dressed as Manga characters, loitered near the front with cameras poised.

This diverse audience is indicative of the rise and rise of The Pipettes, as their appeal goes way beyond the average pop crowd. They may get written off as a camp novelty act by some, due to their nostalgic similarities to sixties girl groups like The Supremes, but don’t be fooled, as these girls create the kind of pop tunes that manufactured bands and X Factor wannabes can only dream of.

The Pipettes gave a constant upbeat lesson in pop, from their first song, Sex, all the way through to the encore of I Like A Boy In Uniform, as the band twisted, twirled and threw shapes in a way that harked back to the great girl groups of the Motown and Stax era.

The set, although full of crowd pleasers like Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me and new single Judy, never threatened to go beyond what was released on their debut album We Are The Pipettes Aside from the odd B-Side track, the amount of new material being showcased was limited. But you no what? No one really cared, as the crowd happily bounced around in state of sixties throwback euphoria.

With their combination of endearing, unpolished dance routines, power pop tunes that have an underlying current of indie sensibility and support from 80s game show legend and Radio 2 DJ, Terry Wogan, it can’t be long before The Pipettes achieve international notoriety.