by Adam Williams

The smack of leather on willow made way for a chorus of singing crowds as two concerts at the home of Kent County Cricket Club went down a storm.

British pop sensations The Sugababes and James Morrison headlined the first Stars Under The Stars event on Friday and Saturday at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury. Those who made the trip to the city had only a long wait for the bar as reason for disappointment.

On Friday night men, women and children dotted themselves around the hallowed turf to watch chart toppers The Sugababes perform hits from their back catalogue. The svelte and sophisticated trio entertained the mixture of ages for what felt like an intimate gig. Support acts rapper DJ Ironik and 16-year-old singer/songwriter Alex Root, from Bromley, proved to be more than worthy of sharing the bill.

After an hour tottering round on stage in their incredibly high heels, busting moves and hitting the high notes, it was time for Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah, to clamber back into their chauffer driven Mercedes and wave good bye to the fans.

Angela Martin, 31, from Wincheap said: “They were amazing, I can’t believe how close I could get to the stage.

“It’s a fantastic venue because there just seems to be bags of room to move around.

“Whether that’s because there aren’t that many people here or because organisers planned it that way, I don’t know.

“But if you weren’t here, you definitely missed out.”

The following evening, a sharp afternoon shower failed to dampen spirits as first 19-year-old folk-pop sensation Lisa Mitchell and then soul-funk five-piece Vagabond, warmed up an estimated 9,000 crowd.

Picture: Barry Goodwin

But that was all just a dress rehearsal for what was to come as Morrison belted out hits from his first two albums, in a set lasting more than an hour and a half. Backing singer Beverley Brown stepped in to Nelly Furtado’s shoes for duet Broken Strings, while the crowd sang along in perfect harmony to tracks including You Give Me Something and Wonderful World. The 24-year-old revelled in the atmosphere and even managed to work Canterbury into two or three choruses.

Kelly Jenkins, 16, from Rough Common thought the show was a huge success.

She said: “It was great, I’m a huge James Morrison and he didn’t disappoint.

“It’s really cool that a big name like this is playing in Canterbury and I hope there’s more shows like this in years to come.”