Girl power is well and truly back as three very glamorous and talented women proved at the weekend.

Calderdale's very own soul sisters, The Yorkshire Dreamgirls once again filled the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, for their second Soul & Motown Revue and in the process raised more than £6,000 for three charities close to their hearts.

Kate Hardcastle, Lisa Roberts and Hannah Cygan-Wrobleski boogied on down with soul legends Alexander O'Neal and Jaki Graham in a concert that was memorable for quite a few different reasons.

The girls, who met at Brooksbank School, Elland, dreamed up the revue last year to celebrate their 30th birthdays. They managed to persuade Amer-ican soul diva Martha Reeves to join them and because of its success decided to make it an annual event.

This year's concert for Halifax RSPCA, the Calderdale branch of The Samaritans and Endometriosis UK had two more big names to pull in the crowds.

But while one lifted the audience and had them dancing in their seats, the other gave a very lacklustre performance.

Alexander O'Neal is one of America's best known soul singers and has enjoyed numerous sell out tours. His six albums have charted both in the UK and US, but his first visit to Calderdale proved a bit of an embarrassment.

He performed some of his hit songs like Fake and Criticise with a backing tape, and while we saw touches of his greatness, overall he failed to hit the right notes and many of the audience gave up on him and walked out.

Jaki Graham on the other hand had the crowds on their feet, clapping and cheering thanks to her rich and powerful voice and her magnetic personality. She was the first black British singer to have six consecutive top 20 hits and you understood why when you saw her perform.

Jaki, who lives in Birmingham, took us back in time with songs such as Ain't Nobody and Tracks Of My Tears. She has performed at The Victoria before and says she plans to keep singing for as long as her fans want to hear her. She has an album out in the new year which includes a lot of new material.

One of the highlights of the revue was Jaki and Alexander dueting together for the first time, backed by The Dreamgirls and The Soul & Motown Allstars to Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

The Soul & Motown Allstars, led by musical director Wayne Pollock, have worked with some of the UK's top names and gave us a polished performance. Leading soul band Kojo, fronted by Simon Sakey were also faultless.

The Dreamgirls belted out some of their old favourites like Chain of Fools, Heatwave and Rescue Me but also included some new material. Former Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Shameless actor Scott Wright also gave us a number. He's an accomplished singer and once appeared in Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes as George Michael.

Scott was compare for the event along with TV personality Jenni Trent Hughes. She has appeared on countless shows such as Loose Women.

Another local celebrity who took to the stage was entrepreneur Terry George of Holywell Green a recent star of The Secret Millionaire and a big supporter of The Dreamgirls.

Kate, who also lives in Holywell Green and works in marketing, said despite some difficulties she had had a fantastic night and next year's concert was already booked for Saturday, September 29.