Thursday 13/09/07 Ali Love @ Notting Hill Arts Club, London

So not really knowing what to expect, I hit über fashionable Yo Yo at Notting Hill Arts Club to check out Ali Love, who has been the centre of considerable A&R hype for some time now. Stepping into a scene of what feels like an astonishing mix of punters left over either from Scissor Sisters or Elton John gigs with the odd hippie in the corner, I’m not so much curious anymore but plainly terrified of what I’ve gotten myself into.

Anyway, after some time of ignoring the fashionistas checking me out with a vengeance and the sleazebags coming up to me with a vigour, Ali enters the scene and turns a nightmare into a sweet dream. The funk-soul-cheese-(in a good way)-singer has the presence of a young Elvis and even though that sounds like the most clichéd thing to say, it’s meant to be a compliment.

The crowd’s captivated by Ali throughout the energetic and soulful set and it’s safe to say that just as many girls as boys want to get in the singer’s pants. His set is filled with gems from the 70s funk glitter-fest that is ‘Late Night Session’ to the get-down-and-dirty-on-the-floor electro burner ‘Rock’n’Roll Control.’ The crowd get their freak on and show me what proper dancing looks like.

Ali wows the crowd with a top notch set of Pop-funk, Light Sabre horseplay and his 'cool-as-funk' punk sneer, as he says himself on his myspace. The most glamorous moment of the night is the falsetto tinged magic of ‘Secret Sunday Lover,’ which once it gets into your brain, won’t get out, EVER! As the first show of his monthly Yo Yo residency proves, Ali is well and truly a pop-star in his own right.