A five-album deep popstar with a hit food podcast and a telly job on Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream could easily lose the element of mystique or surprise. But in her latest Mercury-nominated album That! Feels Good, Jessie Ware doubles down on her disco era which came out of nowhere with 2021’s What’s Your Pleasure. In this live show she unleashes an even more flamboyant and fabulous alter ego, Mother Of Pearl, and proves she has never been more of a pop (and queer) icon. 

‘I’m so nine to five, I’m a lady, I’m a lover, a freak and a mother’ sings Ware in the opening verse of hit single ‘Pearls’. And it is exactly this multifacetedness that underpins tonight’s raucous show. We see the singer cracking a bedazzled whip, hiding behind feather fans and performing a risqué costume change (there were five throughout the show) on stage alongside sipping on a cup of tea and telling us about her favourite Glasgow restaurants; ‘I’m going to Gloriosa tomorrow. I can’t wait!’ she exclaims, while the stage reset for the next number. 

For one evening only, audiences are invited into Ware’s own ‘five star’ establishment: The Pearl, a satin-dripped cabaret club complete with two gravity-defying dancers, backing singers and a few rotating instrumentalists. Her entourage, consisting of Oyster, Sweet P and Rock Steady Eddie (all donning an alter ego for the evening) enrich this sensual, camp and joyful world that combines elements of vaudeville, burlesque and 80s ballroom culture. 

Mostly singing her way through the new album, Mother Of Pearl and the gang execute intricate choreography that combines sensuality with wicked tongue-in-cheek. When not in Ware’s shadow like two slinky butlers, her dancers left the audience awestruck with their scene-stealing flexibility, balletic leaps and steamy couple routines. A few big hitters from What’s Your Pleasure in the set list provide a palette cleanse from four-to-the-floor disco beats (as wonderful as they are), including the synthetically sweet Kylie-esque ‘Adore You’ and soul-tinged ‘Where You Are’.

Only venturing into her ballad-packed back catalogue once to sing a vocally impeccable acoustic version of 2014’s ‘Say You Love Me’, Ware opted to keep the party atmosphere at an all-time high. And what better way to do that than with a surprise cover of Cher’s ‘Believe’, in which Ware appeared on the sprung Barrowlands floor and parted the crowd of adoring fans (a sea of gays, girls and their guys) in the show’s final act. 

Ware’s recent move into nostalgia-soaked dance has brought her new fans, and in the room tonight it’s clear everyone is firmly on board. Her ability to command the crowd with her voice and personality while largely keeping all the action orbiting around her on stage exudes timeless diva. If the pre- and post-show playlist is anything to go by (Candi Staton, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross etc.), Ware has ambitions to follow in the footsteps of disco’s greats. In her own personable and grounded way, she’s more than succeeding. 

Jessie Ware is on tour until Saturday 18 November; reviewed at Barrowland, Glasgow.