REVIEW: The Osmonds, Portsmouth Guildhall

Way back in the '60s The Osmond brothers were just a barbershop group but thanks to the late Andy Williams, who brought the group to the public eye, they became teen-pop idols selling more than 100 million records.

Now five decades later three of the brothers Merrill, Jay and cute little Jimmy are back on the road touring the UK with an Andy Williams-inspired Christmas Spectacular. And what a coup it was for The Guildhall. The venue was packed with hundreds of die-hard fans including me.

Although a festive show, the trio sang many of their hits such as Love Me For A Reason, Let Me In and treated us to a foot- stomping rendition of Crazy Horses which sent the audience wild and ended with a well-deserved standing ovation. That was followed by a mass singalong to Silent Night.

Until now the closest I had got to my idols was the posters on my bedroom wall as a teen.

A fabulous evening’s entertainment. Osmondmania was back, at least for one magical evening at the Guildhall.