Like a gig by One Direction ... but put another record on!

WHEN the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow is not hosting political events and trade shows, it’s a popular venue for pop concerts. Every week, the walls of the grey shed by the Clyde rattle to the sounds of some of the biggest bands in the world. Yesterday, it was the turn of solo artist Nicola Sturgeon to wow her supporters. And they welcomed her to the stage with all the enthusiasm of fans of a band with the stature of, oh, I don’t know… One Direction. Miss Sturgeon’s speech to the conference started with a greatest hits set. She gave the crowd precisely what they wanted. Dressed in a sharp, dark pink suit, with her band of cabinet secretaries and officials behind her, Miss Sturgeon strode confidently up to the microphone and opened with the perennial crowd-pleasing hit We’ve Come A Long Way – a rousing number about how the SNP used to be a small concern but now it dominates the political stage. You must know it by now – it’s never off the radio. And then, to the thunderous percussion of John Swinney’s applause (not since the early days of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham has a man made such a racket with his hands), the First Minister launched into Labour Losers, the SNP smash hit that shot to No1 in Scotland back in 2007.

You’ll be familiar with the chorus: ‘Labour took you for granted, and so they were supplanted.’

The audience in the SECC nodded along with every word. And the hits kept on coming. Miss Sturgeon rattled through No Nukes Here, Progressive, Evil Tories and Let’s Make A Difference without missing a beat. This was a seamlessly rehearsed performance.

But while the first half of the gig was a hit with those who have bought all of Miss Sturgeon’s albums, it was desperately light on new material.

It’s comforting, of course, to hear songs we know and love but sometimes we crave something fresh.

The new songs, when they came, weren’t as immediate as the older stuff. A long ballad about improving trade opportunities had an unconvincing lyric about envoys and opportunity but lacked a memorable chorus.

An anthem about the need to make life the best it can be for children in care was more successful, eliciting an ovation from the audience.

Another new number – about investing in the NHS – had a ring of familiarity. The First Minister has been singing crowd-pleasing songs about the NHS for almost a decade now – and still the service isn’t what it should be.

There were echoes of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s Ebony And Ivory as Miss Sturgeon launched into another newie about Scots uniting, regardless of their views, serenading ‘Yes voters and No voters...’

In her mind’s eye, surely, a sea of lighters flickered before her as the strings swelled.

AS the concert drew to a close, Miss Sturgeon resorted to a cover version of a song made famous by her predecessor Alex Salmond, with the catchy refrain: ‘Let’s get on with building the country we know Scotland can be.’

Then she raised her arms aloft... and dived from the stage into the crowd. Fans, their arms outstretched, held her aloft as she basked in their adoration. The band kept playing, a grinding riff pulsating through the auditorium.

Eventually the First Minister reappeared on stage, blowing kisses and drawing yet more cheers before, in front of a blaze of flashing lights, she dropped her microphone and shimmied off-stage.

Nicola Sturgeon will be performing this set regularly until Scotland votes to leave the UK. So there’s no rush for you to catch it.