'Babes push the right button

Like a successful company, the Sugababes name has become synonymous with quality, sophisticated pop, regardless of the interchangeable bodies who sit on the board.

On their latest tour, the first opportunity to show off latest member Amelle Berrabah, they did not appear to have lost any fans as a result of the switch.

'It really means a lot to me how welcoming you've been,' she said in the speaking voice of a 60-a-day builder, which belied a deep, powerful singing style.

Berrabah replaced Mutya Buena in December, who departed on permanent maternity leave. Like Buena, she is of exotic ethnicity, and may have been chosen for this reason, but unlike Buena she does not look like she is permanently on the verge of punching someone in the face.

She also continued the 'babes tradition of stunning voices coupled with endearingly amateur dancing. The trio, also comprising sunny scouser Heidi Range and lone original member Keisha Buchanan, shimmied a bit, sat down a lot and gladly broke free of any routine to wave at audience members.

For once with a girl group, it was all about the music. The girls are now capable of performing a consistently entertaining, substantial set comprised almost entirely of hit singles.

There were lifts from others, including the colossal Gary Numan synth riff on Freak Like Me and a fun, unlikely, Arctic Monkeys cover, but the frisky electropop of originals such as Hole in the Head and Push the Button were just as enjoyable.

Everyone smiled and shared the spotlight and there were no signs of the fabled bitchiness that has coloured the group. However long it lasts, this looks like the most harmonious line-up yet.

Sugababes