Lemar is really on song.

Lemar, Newcastle City Hall 

Fresh from his Brit Award win, Lemar is touring the UK.

Clearly a little apprehensive, he promised the crowd he was going to try his best ( maybe it was a ploy to get us all rooting for him, as clearly the stage is his home.

Lemar certainly gave it his all, choosing songs that provided an appropriate showcase for his vocal range.

Once settled in, we were treated to a list of those all important influences: Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and then a cover of Al Green's Lets Stay Together, a version that pleased fans of the original and those who were not familiar with it.

This was just one of the covers which Lemar incorporated into his show. Others included the Darkness and Mario Winans.

Of his own tracks, 50/50 whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the touching Lullaby allowed the crowd some downtime, a relief after all the dancing.

Lemar proved his best is good enough.

AMY BROWN 

LEMAR had a wide age range of fans at the City Hall. Grown women were clamouring to buy tickets at the last minute and the men seemed to be loving it all as well. He certainly doesn't have a typical teen audience.

The audience went wild when snappily dressed Brit winner Lemar finally made his appearance.

Dedicated began with a short intro, which had a wonderful piano and guitar arrangement, accompanied by Lemar's voice. He has an astonishingly high range.

The song Body Talk blended soul and funk, Good Woman was another similar tune which got the fans dancing.

Next, Lemar performed the single Another Day, which is a beautiful ballad. The audience seemed to prefer the more up-tempo tracks but I enjoyed this lament to love and friendship lost due to our own mistakes.

Everyone got on their feet for a rendition of Al Greene's Let's Stay Together. It's a classic song but Lemar has really made it his own. Superb.

Another fantastic cover version followed. Backed only by a few chords on the electric guitar, Lemar performed I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness. It was splendidly soulful, especially when mixed with little bits of What's Goin' On? The covers ended with Mario Winans's I Don't Wanna Know.

Hot Summer was perfect for the evening and, again, the fans were clapping and singing along. I enjoyed the ballads Sweet Love and Alright With Our Love.

The concert felt a little padded and it might have been better to wait until more singles or even a second album had been released, but most of the fans seemed satisfied. He's wanted to do this job for so long and he was clearly enjoying himself, as were his North Eastern fans.

MELISSA BAINES