Cher, Arena Birmingham - review and pictures

And last night, music legend Cher brought her phenomenal Here We Go Again tour to Arena Birmingham.

The world tour follows the release of the 73-year-old songstress' latest ABBA cover album, Dancing Queen.

This is the first time the star has embarked on a world tour since her Living Proof farewell shows from 2002 to 2005, and the excitement for her return was palpable with fans excitedly queuing around the venue before doors had opened.

Supporting Cher during her run of shows is former Kat Kool and the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips vocalist Paul Young, performing a variety of covers and original material from across his illustrious career.

Kicking off his set with a rendition of Some People, the 63-year-old singer/songwriter sounded pitch-perfect, backed by a supremely talented band.

He covered songs such as Marvin Gaye's Wherever I Lay My Hat, Ann Peebles' I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, and Daryll Hall and John Oates classic Everytime You Go Away, adding his own flair to each and every note.

Unfortunately, much of the performance was obscured by glaringly bright stage lights that made it difficult to see what was going on from my seat - I was surprised to see that Paul was backed by two singers rather than one when the lights were dimmed.

Despite this - quite literally - blinding blunder, Paul's voice was faultless throughout his performance, and he had many fans dancing down the aisles to his infectious hits.

A video montage of Cher's career graced a towering backdrop, before dropping to reveal the Californian pop culture icon in a bedazzled blue corset and striking matching wig.

Surrounded by backing dancers, Cher stormed into classic hits Woman's World and Strong Enough, demonstrating her marvellous contralto singing voice.

"How are you all doing Birmingham? I'm going to tell you a story, and I made it all up myself!" the star joked, before enthralling the audience with tales of turning 40, meeting David Letterman, and being turned down for a role in The Witches of Eastwick for being 'too old'.

They say age is just a number, and Cher certainly proved that statement to be true with an energetic, entertaining and ethereal show like no other - so take that, George Miller.

"What's your granny doing tonight?" Cher joked, before riding back onto the stage atop a mechanical elephant before an electrifying performance of 1999 track All Or Nothing.

Despite opulent set pieces, precise dance routines and more costume and wig changes than a West End show, Cher added a personal, intimate touch to the performance with anecdotes and jokes that caused rapturous laughter across the room.

She even treated fans to a deeply personal, tear-jerking performance of Sonny Bono and Cher hits The Beat Goes On and I Got You Babe, which saw the star poignantly duet with a video recording of her now-deceased former husband.

The show reflected many different aspects of Cher's career, with a video montage of her film roles followed by a sultry rendition of Welcome to Burlesque from 2010 blockbuster Burlesque, and clips of an interview detailing her love for Elvis and Southern music before a stellar cover of Mark Cohn's Walking In Memphis.

Smash hits from her ABBA cover album followed, with the whole room dancing along and waving their light-up flower headbands to Waterloo, SOS, and Fernando.

One thing that tied all of these eclectic aspects together was Cher's supreme performance talent and incredible vocal range that brought each iconic hit to life.

Ending on rousing renditions of If I Could Turn Back Time and Believe dressed in her iconic MTV Music Video Awards leather jacket and thigh-high boots, the star blew kisses to the crowd bellowing their adoration.

During her Oscar acceptance speech, Cher once said that she felt shunned and didn't belong to any group, but last night the star beat to the sound of her own drum and showed once and for all why she remains a force to be reckoned with.

If I could turn back time, I would watch Cher perform over and over again.