QX Magazine

16/06/12: I must admit, as far as Cheryl Cole fans go, I’m not a member of the club. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I disliked her, but more that I was always a little… ‘indifferent’ to her.

I’m sure my ‘indifference’ to la Cole, sorry Cheryl, wasn’t much of an issue to her seeing as how she’s already scored two No.1 albums, three No.1 singles, a half dozen or so top ten hits… and that’s just counting her solo career never mind her time in Girls Aloud. So yes, my indifference is no doubt but a trifling thought to the nation’s (current) sweetheart.

The first time she joined the long list of superstar guests to perform at G-A-Y was ten years ago this December as part of the newly formed Girls Aloud. Now, almost a decade later, she’s struck out on her own and eclipsed the Girls’ celebrity in her own right.

So, there we were, stage-side in the wings ready to see her hit the stage. To the deafening cacophony of hundreds of screaming clubbers Jeremy Joseph introduced her on stage and the show kicked-off with her first hit, ‘Fight For This Love’, before she delved into a series of cuts from her latest album, A Million Lights. ‘Screw You’ was a cheeky ‘fuck you’ to a former lover, while the bouncy ‘Under The Sun’ saw her swing and sway to a whooping crowd.

She ducked and dived on stage effortlessly – girl has learned some slick dance moves – and she even sang live, or at least did a very convincing impression of it; up close as we were it certainly seemed like she’d put those miming rumours to bed with a decent vocal performance. Final show-closer ‘Call My Name’ tore the roof down and left us more than impressed with lil’ Chezza!

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Heaven, Villiers Street, WC2N 6NG
Words by Dave Hogan
Photos by Cliff Joannou