Nothing captures the British public's imagination quite like a victorious underdog. A year ago Jessica, Kelli, Tony, Michelle and Kevin were rejected by the Popstars TV programme. Rather than go back to chip shops or office jobs or wherever they came from, they formed a group and made a mockery of wicked critics' "flopstars" taunts. Their Thinking It Over album has gone double platinum.
The band's formula is simple: pop R&B with lashings of subtle sex. The girls are modelling sprayed-on leather trousers and black bra-tops and appear to have spent the pre-gig hours being smothered in baby oil and glitter. However, it is sex with a grin not a po-face. The message is that any girl-next-door can become a sexual icon, but the boys make do with outfits you would wear to do the decorating.
Normality is not generally a recipe for pop longevity, but it is Liberty X's biggest strength. Unlike Hear'Say, they do not seem dazzled by their own "celebrity" and grin constantly. There is even something very refreshing about the fact that they have spots.
They know that it might have been any of them up there, although when a visibly nervous girl called Hazel is hauled up from the audience, the point is subtly made that Liberty X can sing better than most.
Comedy moments such as the musicians' mischievous indulgence in Rick Wakeman passages during the costume changes do not disguise the fact that Liberty X are a slick, baby-oiled pop machine. The studio perfection of their album is delivered with added gusto. "Is everybody doing it, Sheffield?" shouts Michelle. Judging from the cheers, Sheffield certainly is.
The obsession with sex is predictable but fits with the band's unpretentious vibe. Most people shag, so they sing about shagging. They do not insult their audience by eulogising diamonds or attempting to unravel the Middle East situation. Their best tunes fuse the hi-tech gloss of R&B with the innocent thrill of puberty down at the school disco. For Being Nobody, the five troopers perch on dining chairs. By the closing Just A Little, Sheffield is united in mass gyrations, a curiously charming explosion of rhythm, blues, zits and not x-rated ass.
· At Hammersmith Apollo (0207 6036033) today, then touring.
