THE moves might not be as fluid after 48 years, but the peerless harmonies are as matchless as they ever were.

It’s only just over a year since they last appeared in Weymouth, but The Stylistics are still a big enough draw to fill the venue again.

Opening with Rock’n’Roll Baby and seguing into 16 Bars, it’s like stepping into a musical Tardis and setting the controls for the early Seventies when producer Thom Bell’s Philadelphia sound made them the most successful soul outfit on the planet.

As founder member Herb Murrell asked us in his bottomless baritone: “What were you doing when this song was big?”, Eban Brown’s fabulous falsetto takes us back to 1972 with Stop, Look, Listen.

(I was still at school, since you ask, Herb.)

As he himself mentions, Airrion Fields’ afro and pork chop sidies may have vanished over the years but his vocal prowess is as strong as ever, as is that of relative new boy Jason Sharp, who joined in 2011 after earlier success with Heatwave.

With the passing years, one can forget just how many hits the band had, but they were all present and correct at the Pavilion: Betcha By Golly Wow, You Are Everything, You Make Me Feel Brand New, and many, many more.

And they were all delivered perfectly by a crack six-piece band which included three keyboard players, each with two keyboards in a bid to successfully emulate the lush orchestration and arrangements of the originals.

Yes, there were cheesy moments: “We’d like to dedicate this one to all the laydeez out there tonight,” drawled Herb, but if you’re from Philadelphia, you can forgive any amount of cheese.

All in all, great songs, great performance and great entertainment and a fabulous evening. Keep’ em coming, Pavilion.

NICK HORTON