SOMEWHAT amazingly, it is now 15 years since Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall imprinted herself on our collective consciousness with her dramatic appearance on Later with Jools Holland introducing a new generation to both the loop pedal and her catchy tunes.

Her formidable live performances have built a very loyal fan base many of whom were at the Sage Gateshead on Monday to see her and her excellent all female band, so it was no surprise that with all that talent on stage no one left disappointed.

As chatty between songs as ever, Tunstall effortlessly moved between older favourites like ‘Other Side Of The World’ during which she instructed everyone to get out their phones and wave them around, and newer tunes from last year’s ‘Wax’ album like ‘Backlash and Vinegar’.

A strong album, ‘Wax’ is the second of a planned trilogy of releases themed around spirit, body and mind, and Tunstall performed many of songs from the release including ‘The River’, ‘Little Red Thread’, ‘Mountain’ and a moving take on ‘The Night That Bowie Died’.

‘Wax’s predecessor, ‘Kin’ was not forgotten either, with ‘Hard Girls’ and a particularly soulful version of ‘It Took Me So Long to Get Here, but Here I Am’ early in the set.

Breakthrough hit ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’ segued nicely into a crowd pleasing romp through ‘Black Betty’ and ‘Suddenly I See’ made for a rousing encore.

Support was provided by Laurel, an indie musician from the South coast, who provided a pleasing set of self-penned material. She’s scheduled to appear at this year’s Deershed Festival near Thirsk in July, and is well worth catching.

DAVE LAWRENCE