02 Arena, Dublin November 7th THERE'S NOTHING quite like a 25-year reunion to get the oestrogen pumping. The Nolan Sisters might have seemed like squeaky clean girls next door, but they were the mould-breakers long before Bananarama, The Spice Girls or Destiny's Child figured out the value of tapping a teen market with a canny combination of lusty lyrics and faux innocence.
Whether it was chutzpah or sheer brass neck, Shane and Jake, Colleen Nolan’s two teenage sons used their warm-up slot to stake a claim as X factor wannabes, with skin thick enough to withstand the hardiest of Cowell slingshots.
Gone were the sky blue pant suits and the sweet-as-pie girl next door schtick. This late Noughties instalment is a far more polished affair, fuelled by their own surprise at this late-won revival and a determination to enjoy it while it lasts.
Their audience consisted of over 90 per cent women, all of whom lip-synched not just to the Nolans' own back catalogue but to every syllable of their adopted set list too, which bore an uncanny resemblance to a bastard offspring of The Full Montycrossed with The Village People, complete with cowboy-hatted, jockstrap-toting male dancers.
This was a night for the big diva anthems. Diana Ross's Chain Reactionand The Weather Girls' It's Raining Menwere mere fillers while the gals worked us up for their own confections. And how we hollered as they rollicked through Gotta Pull Myself Together, Who's Gonna Rock You Now?and Attention To Me, with Linda's voice scaffolding fairly pedestrian harmonies buffered by a competent five-piece band.
Miracle knickers were working overtime both on and off stage all night and, when it eventually came time for I'm In The Mood For Dancing, the collective elastic all but popped with the excitement of it all. These sisters weren't just doing it for themselves. They were doing it for all of us too – and how we loved every last syrupy drop of it.
