I wanna be the one to walk in the sun

We love Cyndi Lauper. Who doesn't!? She's entirely harmless yet not the bland inoffensive kind either. She's witty, she's constantly stoned and she's one of the biggest gay rights activists in showbusiness right now. We're sure she herself loves GaGa but we would love to sit all the little queens who bang on and on about how GaGa is the saviour of gay rights and has suddenly made it okay for all gays to go to school and not get the shit kicked out of them in a room with a documentary on Cyndi Lauper and the work she's done. The True Colors Tour was single-handedly organised by this woman and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for LGBT charities in the US, not to mention taking Scissor Sisters, Gossip, Tegan & Sara, Margaret Cho, Regina Spektor, Joan Armatrading, Sarah McLachlan, Rosie O'Donnell and Wanda Sykes with her, to mention just a few. Born this way? Fuck off. And not once has she tried to re-appropriate the struggles of gay people for herself - she's fully aware of her position as a privileged white woman and not once has she pretended she's an outcast, a reject of society. Because she doesn't need to be, she's not a fraud. Anyway this rant is for another time.

Back to Cyndi Lauper herself. God love the woman, she's playing theatres for £35 a ticket and she still puts on a cracker. A tiny little ball of energy, constantly running around the stage and throwing fierce shapes. The album the tour was in support of is, straight off, not our thing; an addition to the clichéd canon of well established artists doing an album of jazz or in Cyndi's case, blues, standards, which is a shame because her previous album was 'right up our street', the alternative Confessions (again the concept of Cyndi being a parallel universe Madonna is for another time and thesis).

The setlist, naturally, was formed in bulk by the tracklist of the album, which was fine. The music is jovial and rousing, and the crowd were lapping it up. The atmosphere was fantastic. But of course everyone was waiting it out for the final Holy Trinity of Cyndi songs - "Girls", "True Colors" and "Time After Time". She must hate these songs so much but then what should she expect? Three of the most iconic songs of the decade from whence they hailed, they're bound to be the most desired. "Girls" had everyone on their seats and suddenly the room was a giant hen party - a lump grew in our throat at the line "Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her away from the rest of the world / I wanna be the one to walk in the sun" - not because we can personally relate to it but just because there's something about it... it soars. But "Time After Time" had to be the highlight of all, the bittersweet lyrics being amplified to perfection by the auto harp Cyndi strummed alone on stage after her entire band had left. As mentioned earlier, the lyrics of "True Colors" seemed to take on an enormous new relevance in light of recent events. To say we left on a high wouldn't do justice.

And isn't that how anyone wants to feel leaving a concert? It's a testament to Cyndi's skills as a performer and an entertainer that despite the bulk of her material not being our cup of tea, we left with more than a skip in our step. A woman of her legacy and stature yet comfortable enough around her fans to jump into the audience, kick one of them out of their seat and use it as a satellite stage? Marvellous woman.

The Memphis Blues Tour at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

1. "Just Your Fool"

2. "Shattered Dreams"

3. "She Bop"

4. "How Blue Can You Get?"

5. "Early in the Mornin'"

6. "All Through the Night"

7. "Lead Me On"

8. "Crossroads"

9. "Down Don't Bother Me"

10. "Don't Cry No More"

11. "What's Going On"

12. "Lyfe"

13. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

14. "Heading West"

15. "I'm Gonna Be Strong"

15. "Time After Time"

16. "True Colors"