NOW I’ll make a confession right off. I’m too young to remember Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons the first time around, but that is not to say I’m not familiar with their lengthy list of classic hits.

The group’s immense contribution to the worldwide music scene has been immortalised in popular films which any girl of any age is bound to know. The Four Seasons practically wrote the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing and have either written or performed songs on so many other much-loved movies including Grease, My Girl, Ghost and Back to the Future.

So, young or old, it mattered not as the cast of New Jersey Nights prepared to get us all in the party mood at opening night in Bristol on Monday.

Set in a bar in the first half, singers Jon Hawkins, Duncan Heather, Ricky Rojas and Damion Scarcella kicked off the two-hour long trip through the 1960s and 70s with party tune Oh What a Night. Followed in quick succession with early hits Dawn, Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Bye Bye Baby, the foursome explained the history to many of the songs, cracked a few jokes and asked for the audience to join in on many occasions.

The dancing and singing female trio, Robyn Ford, Charlotte Greaves and Samantha Heather, also paid homage to The Crystals and The Ronettes in glittery doo whoop style with Da Do Ron Ron and Be My Baby.

Although a little more subdued than the second half, snazzy costumes for the big number, Walk Like a Man, gave the last song of the first act a taste of things to come.

Revitalised with a drink or two, Bristol was ready to party after the interval as the Jersey Nights six dancers, including homegrown talent Charlie England, were given a chance to shine in some full ensemble routines including Why do Fools Fall in Love and My Girl.

Then came the magic, as the Four Seasons singers went acapella for the perfectly-harmonised Silence is Golden and a hilarious version of Blue Moon featuring ‘a mistake’ which made the crowd only love the octave-defying foursome even more.

After a tear-jerking rendition of Fallen Angel, which Valli wrote in tribute to his two dead daughters, it was time to party. Working My Way Back to You, Grease and Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You had the audience desperate to get out of their chairs and join in the dancing – something we all did as soon as the mega mix finale started.

With the help of a unique back catalogue of some of radio’s most played songs, this talented group of singers, from the baritones of Jon Hawkins to the unbelievably high notes Ricky Rojas could reach, managed to recapture the feel good fun of the Four Seasons. And with the help of a live band and terrific dancers they created a memorable night anyone of any age can enjoy.

New Jersey Nights is on at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, April 13.