FORGET The Jersey Boys, the original and best was on show at the Manchester Arena as Frankie Valli treated an ecstatic and large crowd to the very best of his solo work and the canon of hits he recorded with The Four Seasons.

Backed by a band which included a horn section, he started the show with Grease before launching into some Four Seasons numbers.

The first half of the show was predominantly his solo work featuring Beggin', My Eyes Adored You, Swearing to God and Fallen Angel and he got an enthusiastic response from the audience.

There was also a selection from a recent CD of covers which included Spanish Harlem, which was interesting for those who had not heard these recordings before.

The highlight of the first half was a rendition on the Four Seasons classic I Got You Under My Skin, which incorporated a superb instrumental section that was reminiscent of a Frank Sinatra version — who Valli himself said was a big influence on him.

The second half was a Four Seasons hit fest with all the biggest hits being performed excellently.

Frankie's current Four Seasons are a quartet of fine singers, whose harmonies captured the excellence of the originals.

As well as the established hits like Sherry, Rag Doll and Working My Way Back to You, the audience was treated to the Northern Soul hit they recorded in 1975, The Night, Who Loves You and the flip side of Rag Doll which had been a hit for The Tremeloes — Silence is Golden.

The biggest ovations came for these songs with the roof coming off for December '63.

The evening ended with a rousing version of Let's Hang On where everyone was on their feet.

Despite being 81 years old, Valli has lost none of his showmanship and he strolled up and down the stage, shaking hands with the fans whilst producing that amazing falsetto voice that we all know and love for the two hours he was on stage.

Twenty seven great songs, as sung by one of the best and most distinctive vocalists that popular music has ever produced.

Oh what a night!