IT'S got to be-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee perfect are the words that most people think of when you mention the name Eddi Reader.

The singer who made her name with the short-lived Fairground Attraction and has since forged a successful solo career appears at Portsmouth's Wedgewood Rooms next Tuesday.

Amazingly, it's 17 years since Perfect spent 13 weeks in the charts, and Eddi has since built up a towering reputation as a live artist and an accomplished songwriter.

It's well documented that Eddi grew up in a violent and oppressive suburb of Glasgow where she learned to use music as a vehicle for transcending her claustrophobic environment. Apparently the family home was so crowded, she learnt to play the guitar hiding away in a wardrobe!

In the early 1980s, Eddi travelled around Europe with circus and performance artists before moving to London, where she quickly became a sought after session vocalist. She famously harmonised with Annie Lennox touring with the Eurythmics following a spell with successful punk outfit Gang of Four.

Then came Fairground Attraction and Perfect plus a number one album First of a Million Kisses. After going solo she made her debut album Mirmama in 1992, following up with Eddi Reader in 1994 and Candyfloss & Medicine in 1996. Having built up a considerable reputation as a songwriter and a fluent interpreter of other artists' songs Eddi then delivered Angels & Electricity in 1998.

The album Simple Soul in 2001 confirmed her growing song writing skills. Two years later she released an album of material by 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns, recorded with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra which received massive critical acclaim.

A favourite on the festival circuit, Eddie has also toured in England, Scotland, Japan, Australia, Spain, USA and Ireland over the last few years.

Tickets £15. Box office: 023 9229 3301.