A PERTH shopping centre came to a standstill yesterday as one of Scotland’s best-known singer-songwriters performed an intimate gig.

Chart-topper Sandi Thom, who enjoyed worldwide success with I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker, delighted fans and passers-by during an appearance at the St John’s Centre.

After performing at HMV, she signed copies of her new album, The Pink & The Lily.

Earlier she had performed a similar set outside the HMV shop in Dundee.

Having made her first album on a minuscule budget in a freezing barn in Cheshire, the songstress famously came to the world’s attention in her tiny basement in Tooting with her “21 nights in Tooting” tour—three weeks of concerts that she sent out to audiences worldwide via the internet.

When I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker was re-released on her new label RCA, it went straight to number one in the UK and was a hit across the globe.

Sung mainly a capella with just handclaps and the most basic percussion, the song was widely acclaimed as one of the stand-out tracks of 2006, showcasing Sandi’s strong, soulful voice and establishing her as a major new song writing talent.

Sandi grew up in Macduff on the north-east coast of Scotland.

Her talent began to shine through at the tender age of four when her aunt Nelly started teaching her the piano.