To be honest I was more than sceptical before attending this performance.

With his bizarre behaviour and recent court case, when it came to Michael Jackson I was firmly in the Jarvis Cocker camp.

However, what Thriller Live served to do was remind me just how many good tunes Jackson has written over the years.

The show has a cast of over 30 singers, dancers and musicians and charts the musical journey of Michael Jackson from his early days with the Jackson Five through to his more recent material.

Zoe Birkett, the Pop Idol runner-up from Darlington, obviously relished performing in front of a home crowd.

As the only female singer in the show, she was note-perfect throughout the entire performance and one was left wondering how she was overlooked in the reality TV show in favour of the bland offerings served up by Will Young and Gareth Gates.

Her impressive vocal range belied her 21 years of age and she mastered complex dance routines with complete ease.

The only glitch in the performance was when former Shalamar singer Jeffrey Daniel, who compered the show, introduced her as being from Newcastle.

Nevertheless, as more of Jackson hits were performed culminating in a the entire ensemble performing the eponymous hit Thriller, even the sceptics in the audience found themselves tapping their feet and clapping along.

David Roberts