Gwen Stefani Live

This is a big f**king deal- two shows at Wembley! screams Gwen Stefani on the last date of her UK tour.

And from the moment she takes to the London stage with her band and dancers this gig is a joyous pop spectacle.

She bookends her performance with the signature tunes from her two albums. The No Doubt singer arrives on stage held captive in a gold prison for The Sweet Escape- her catchy Akon accompanied single.

At the close Gwen- who is 38 on October 3- is atop a grand piano for a pounding version of her debut solo track What You Waiting For.

Throughout the show shes joined by eight superb dancers including her Harajuku Girls. The six-piece band do a great job too- interpreting beats from Dr Dre and The Neptunes on Rich Girl and Yummy.

MTVs not really a fan of yodellers anthem Wind It Up and despite a great guitar solo Danger Zone is a bit too messy. Hollaback Girl- the ultimate shout-along song- gets the show back on track with glorious horns.

Stefani connects well with her screaming 15,000 crowd- which is mostly made up of 10 year-old girls and hen-party types in bunny ears. During Cool she literally runs through the whole of Wembley Arena singing in the audience and letting them take photos with her.

It helps that the Orange County girl is such an anglophile- shes even married to a Brit. The only reason Im here is because of ska bands like Madnesss, The Selector and The Specials, she acknowledges. Gwen enters the show to Elvis Costellos classic Watching The Detectives.

Stylistically the show is perfect with every detail shining - from the dancers outfits to the giant G above the stage. Combine that with the gorgeous stars eclectic anthems and youve got the 21st centurys best female pop star by a long way.

Props also go to Stefani for having CSS as her support act. Many of the crowd looked puzzled by the Brazilians, not least the children. MTV only hopes one of them said: Mummy, what does Lets Make Love And Listen To Death From Above mean?

Tom Thorogood