BACK in the 1970s, many artists’ careers were given a boost when their best songs were repackaged as 20 Golden Greats or The Best Of albums.

The modern-day equivalent of that is the “karaoke” musical, of which Mama Mia and We Will Rock You - stage tributes respectively to Abba and Queen - are leading examples.

If you propose to put on such a show you need to make sure the back catalogue of the chosen performers is extensive enough to justify all that effort.

No such problems where Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are concerned - great songs with a distinctive sound leave you wanting more, even after two and a half hours, in Jersey Boys.

It is not just the songs but the story behind their rise, as they climbed the ladder up to fortune and fame, to borrow from My Eyes Adored You, that adds depth and poignancy to this showbiz tale.

Behind the upbeat nature of their songs lay cynical self-interest on the part of those who wanted a piece of them, as well as personal foibles that undermined the ability of the group members themselves to savour the fortune and fame they earned.

While Mama Mia and We Will Rock You were probably sure-fire hits in the making, with Abba and Queen hit-makers in the 1970s and 80s, not to mention 90s in Queen’s case, you have to rewind to the 1960s for the heyday of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, probably making it a riskier enterprise.

Judging by the range of ages of the audience for the show that is no problem, emphasising the timelessness of good music.

There has probably never been a popular singer quite like Frankie Valli, with that soaring falsetto, so the challenge for Jersey Boys’ producers is to replicate the Four Seasons sound for those of us old enough to remember them.

They succeed and in spectacular style. The early hat-trick of hits, Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man are faithful recreations of the originals and the show flies.

The hits just keep on coming and you realise how many of the songs got new leases of life as hits for others - Stay, Let’s Hang on (to What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Working My Way Back to You and, only recently, Beggin.

The group’s final flourish as chart-toppers came with the song that is Jersey Boys’ natural tagline - December 1963 (Oh What a Night) - what a night indeed.