At 65, the Empress of Soul is leaving on the Midnight Train to Georgia for the last time. Gladys Knight's "farewell tour" winds down a six-decade-long career that began with a talent contest at the age of seven. You can't blame her for wanting a rest, although, as one of the greats, she isn't bowing out quietly. For almost two hours, she conducts a "musical journey" that is both an emotional rollercoaster and a social history lesson. Delving back to the doo-wop era for her early hits, she explains that she would never have dared express the sentiments of If I Were Your Woman in person, because in those days "you had to wait for men to say something to you … and I'm still waiting!"

Knight is funny, warm and more like a trendy mum than a fledgling pensioner, while her gloriously intact vocals show why she remains the blueprint for every serious female soul singer.

The musical journey visits her Motown period, travels via protest funk and the disco era, and pulls in at the Bond theme Licence to Kill. Tearjerkers The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me and Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were prompt standing ovations, and she looks set to cry before reeling off cheekier memories, like how "brother" Marvin Gaye "stole" I Heard It Through the Grapevine from her. Knight might be an outrageous namedropper, but not many stars could boast a Jackson (Tito) as a support act, and roll out Dionne Warwick for That's What Friends Are For.

There is too much schmaltz towards the end, but Knight leaves her loyal fans cheering as she boards her signature hit Midnight Train. But it isn't headed for Georgia just yet; this British visit ends in Aberdeen.