Let Loose, Albert Halls, Bolton. LET Loose once admitted they do not want to be known as a 'boy band', and are striving towards attracting a wider, perhaps maturer audience.

But one look at the fans last night made it evident that Take That's ex-clientele have somewhere to turn.

However, with all due respects, Let Loose are a noticeably talented band with a distinctive gritty pop and captivating sharp rock feel. Embarking on their first full-scale UK tour, Richie, Rob and Lee, unfortunately and undeservedly performed to an only half full Albert Hall.

Yet the audience needed little coaxing when the band kick-started the concert with 'You Super Sexy Real Thing'.

Clad in a black silky shirt and tight black leather trousers, lead singer and principal songwriter, Richie, excessively teased the spellbound onlookers. In addition to playing the old favourites, 'Seventeen' and 'One Night Stand' (which enabled guitarist, Rob, to truly demonstrate his talent on the strings), the band blasted new numbers from their recently released album 'Rollercoaster'.

Like the ride the album is named after, the audience were whisked on a journey from the elevating sounds of 'Everybody Say, Everybody Do', to the tender and poignant 'Who's Gonna Love Me Now?', whose lyrics were inspired by the film Born on the Fourth of July. Keeping within the sphere of rock, they then played a creditable rendition of 'Addicted To love'.

The evening was wrapped up with the hit single 'Crazy', which earned the guys a gold disc in 1994 and left the audience last night, dare I say it, crazy for more.

Credit is also needed to the support band, Alibi - a sophisticated and more mature Ant and Dec style duo. Sounding like a hiphop China Black, the new group showed much potential from their four numbers. You saw it here first! NICOLE DUCKWORTH

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.