"IT'S a measure of Tina Turner's reputation that more people question if King of Pop Jacko has still got it - at 50 - than doubt the Queen of Rock n' Soul's mojo, at some 20 years his senior.

Regardless of her age, which is now as much a part of the myth as the sequins and sass, fans still turn out to see the steppin' on hot coals dance moves honed long ago under Daddy Ike's glare.

On Monday night at the M.E.N Arena Tina Turner did her level best to deliver on those expectations. And while she appears to have handed some of the more extravagant steps to Beyonce for safekeeping, her defiance of Old Father Time is still awe-inspiring.

The sixties soul-stirrer came shortly after curtain raiser Steamy Windows, for which Tina was lowered from the roof on a special platform, backed by a throaty orchestra of appreciative roars. Just in case anybody felt they weren't getting their money's worth watching her turn back the years, she laid on Las Vegas-style entertainment.

Flames burst from the stage before a martial arts themed dance troupe called The Ninjas had a play fight. Then Tina, after a short breather, emerged from the video backdrop of a junkyard and the fist-pumping pomp of The Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again'.

She was wearing a red cape over a short spangly dress that showed off her famous legs. The suggestive, playful aggression that is her trademark was there in the interludes too, when she called on the audience for help with 'What's Love Got to Do With It'.

After Private Dancer, both plaintive and powerful, a bantam-weight in body-paint began cracking a whip and whirling around. It turned out he was the cue for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome number 'We Don't Need Another Hero' and a set-piece taking inspiration from the movie. GoldenEye got similarly campy treatment. A video montage that told the artist's life story - from Anna Mae Bullock, to Ike Turner's private dancer, to the stadium megastar of the eighties - led up to a rhythm and blues style set which while more intimate, maintained the energy levels.

An excellent cover of Help! was a highlight of the night. Undercover Agent for the Blues had a juke-joint swagger, while Jumpin' Jack Flash was better than you would expect. The legs came out again for Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love. Power ballad Simply the Best invited the usual accolades before she left, paying tribute to her top band and adoring audience. The encore was throwback rock theatre that must have had half the crowd thinking, 'whatever's she's on, I want some.' Swinging out from the stage on a giant metal arm she took Nutbush City Limits to the fans, before strutting boldly along its length to close a constantly entertaining show with Be Tender With Me Baby."