AS a big fan of Gabrielle I hoped seeing her live would not alter my opinion of her, but it did -- for the better.

Arriving at the Apollo in Manchester there was a huge sense of anticipation in the air and the evidence of Gabrielle's far reaching appeal was noticeable in the audience.

I had expected mainly 20 to 30 something females but saw a diverse range of people from children to teenagers, middle aged mums and dads to big burly blokes.

After a highly entertaining performance by smooth sounding boy band Damage, the woman herself burst onto the stage with a cheery wave and a big call out to the audience.

Dressed in a black sequined top, trousers and her trademark long leather jacket, she sounded better, if that is possible, than she does on any CD.

Working her way through a medley of all her best hits: Sunshine, Rise, Tell Me What You Dream, When A Woman and other favourites, the audience shouted out their appreciation and Gabrielle was happy to chat back.

The crowd warmed to her even more when she was told security were stopping people from getting out of their seats to stand by the stage.

Telling security to "chill out" she said she wanted her people around her and reassured them "Auntie Gaby will look after the room."

Her beautiful, powerful voice with its extensive range and truly distinctive sound filled the Apollo and got people up on their feet clapping, dancing and singing along.

Two older hits Dreams and If You Ever provoked a huge reception from the audience, as did her most recent hits Out of Reach and Don't need the sun to shine (to make me smile).

After finishing her set with her debut hit Dreams, she bounded back on stage for a final encore closing the night with Gonna Get Better, a song about staying positive in hard times.

"Peace, love and respect" she shouted as she said her final goodbye to the crowd. And after such a flawless and friendly performance, no doubt everyone there had the utmost respect for Gabrielle.