Although Teena Marie - 'Lady T' to her fans, of course – was in London ostensibly to promote her new album, 'Congo Square,' it was no real surprise that her live set at a sold-out IndigO2 in North Greenwich consisted mainly of golden oldies from her copious back catalogue of R&B hits – classic Motown tracks from back in the day like 'Behind The Groove,' 'Square Biz,' 'I Need Your Lovin',' and, of course, the sensuous mid-tempo ballad, 'Portuguese Love,' arguably the songstress's most popular song with UK soul fans.

Though she's 53 now, Teena's voice is still in great shape, as evidenced by some of the incredible sustained high notes she hit during the course of the evening, which drew wild hollers of appreciation from the audience (interestingly, black folks outnumbered white, which says a lot about Teena's standing in the black community).

Her seven-piece US band was hot, too, their tight grooves stoking up the musical intensity to incendiary levels on out-and-out funk numbers like 'I'm A Sucker For Your Love,' one of several numbers that she included as a homage to her original mentor, Rick James. Teena's nephew, an up-and-coming young singer, took James' role on a poignant duet of 'Fire & Ice.' From her post-Motown material, the diminutive chanteuse – who donned an electric guitar and laid down some serious funk licks on some of the uptempo tunes - included 'Ooh La La,' 'Main Squeeze,' and best of all, 'I'm Still In Love,' from her 2004 album, 'La Dona.'

Although Teena Marie mainly revisited her past glories with a crowd-pleasing set, this was no empty exercise in nostalgia – she is, after all, still selling truck loads of her new album in the States and on the evidence of this performance, she's still a valid and vital presence in contemporary soul and R&B. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another two decades for her next UK live appearance.