Fifty Eight and Counting (we think)

For the second time in seven days, the 10,000-strong crowd at the Echo Arena were brought to their feet for a rendition of The Farm's All Together Now.

Last week it was all about the launch of the Capital of Culture, but this Saturday was a celebration of just how good Scousers are at topping the charts.

The Number One Project, a live charity show featuring as many as possible of the 56 Liverpool-connected singles which sat at the summit of the hit parade, saw one of the most bizarre line-ups for a concert in years, as songs were either performed by the original artists, or covered by an act from the city.

Alongside the Seel Street-friendly set-ups of Shack and Amsterdam were X-Factor runner-up Ray Quinn (whose performance seemed to be on half power), extra bubbly Eurovision runner-upperer Sonia and a surprisingly powerful-of-voice Atomic Kitten.

The vast majority of this show worked, the only duff bit being four girls from Hollyoaks performing How Much is That Doggy in the Window? (the first of Liverpool's chart-topping haul from 1953) with the rather pointless addition of Craig from Big Brother, who didn't sing a note and got pushed about a bit by the quartet present.

Ironically, the one song which nearly took the brand new roof off was Scaffold's Lily the Pink at the close of the first half, the one number (they say) none of the other bands would touch. A brilliant sing-a-long moment, it was followed by a re-written version of The Lightning Seeds' Three Lions (now 'three shirts on a line' to reflect Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere's hold on Merseyside's football devouring populace) which was great fun to join in with, for the 10 seconds the lyrics were on the screen. But hey-ho, the atmosphere's the thing.

One thing which shouldn't become the norm during 2008 is suger-coated pokes at Manchester. Billy Butler got one in during his presentation of the opening acts, and it was uncomfortable to listen to. All the points that need to be scored are right there in the list of number one singles and the city's current Culture status - comments about other places smack of arrogance and shouldn't be brought to this party.

Doctor and the Medics are another act born to please crowds. Their '86 hit Spirit in the Sky was almost missed off the list until lead singer Clive Jackson produced his birth certificate to prove his Scouse parentage. It was a good thing he did. Their version of Frankie's Two Tribes got the crowd up and dancing, before launching into was jokingly referred to as 'a medley of their number one hit'. Complete with a man in his pants wearing a Welsh flag and bouncing orange Prisoner-style balloons in to the crowd, this was arguably the performance of the night.

Pete Hooton of The Farm brought the family on stage for All Together Now, preceded by a faithful cover of The Searcher's Needles and Pins. This was all leading up to the finale - starting with a reunion for Atomic Kitten with two of their three number ones (no Eternal Flame) and the one they hope is going to be the city's 57th (actually 59th) number one - a cover of Cilla's Anyone Who Had a Heart.

Yes, the city has really had 58 number one hits. As Janice Long continued with her warm, laid back style of presentation in the second half, she announced that Huyton-born Carol Decker's barnstorming vocals on T'Pau's China in Your Hand had also been overlooked by the list compilers.

It all ended with Gerry Marsden, whose Pacemakers had three number one hits in a row, and even the Blues in the auditorium were willing to stand for an emotional rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.

With near-60 songs to choose from, the organisers must have fretted more about what to leave out, rather than how to fill three-and-three-quarter hours of unique live entertainment.

I think they call it the embarrassment of riches.

J.M.

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