The weather was even better than predicted in South Shields on Sunday, with Bents Park absolutely packed for the first Sunday concert of the year. And there was nobody better to headline the Pride in South Tyneside special than the town's own Joe McElderry, who rounded things off in fine style with a superb headline set.

No matter what your taste in music, the weekly summer shows at the famous park by the sea, are always something to look forward to. The likes of Busted, Billy Ocean, Rick Astley, Alexandra Burke and Will Young have all performed at them over the last decade or so and this year's line-up is packed full of music icons; with a few of them stepping onto the stage for week one, as temperatures climbed well past 20 degrees down by the coast in South Tyneside.

A celebration of Pride at a time when it's more important than ever for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies, the Pride in South Tyneside concert could not have gone any better, with local powerhouse vocalist Shelly Stevens getting things off to a cracking start, with an anthem filled set that included the likes of Red Light Spells Danger, Proud Mary and encore Simply the Best, before another shining example of North East talent, Channy stepped onto the stage.

Channy's set was near pop perfection, featuring tracks like Golden, Beautiful Things and Where is My Husband, as she was flanked by some brilliant dancers; with Channy then followed on stage by Liverpool's very own pop pocket rocket Sonia. Everything you could want from a festival set, Sonia had the crowd singing along to Hopelessly Devoted to You and You To Me Are Everything, before having many of them on their feet to dance to her huge 80s number 1 You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You.

The clock was then turned back to the Smash Hits era thanks to 911, with Lee, Spike and Jimmy, 30 years after appearing at the Catherine Cookson festival in South Shields, delighting with the a set that started with their debut single Night to Remember, included Party People and 1999 number 1 Little Bit More and ended with pop banger Bodyshakin.'

And then came the act that many locals had come to see - Joe McElderry - who picked the perfect song to start with as temperatures soared, with Feel the Fire setting the tone for what was a set that switched up tempos and showcased his vocals to great effect. Other highlights from his performance, which saw the former X Factor winner, joined by a fantastic band, included a cover of Rein Me In, an outing for his addictively good new single Love Me Out Loud, dance anthems Pretty Green Eyes and Freed From Desire and, of course, The Climb.

If you were there, see if you can spot yourself in the photos below...