Still full of the anarchic zeal of his youth, and sporting an uber-cool haircut which no other man in his 50's could pull-off, Mr Weller strutted onto the stage, bang on time, to deliver a faultless set of mod classics from The Jam and Style Council days as well as his modern best-sellers.

Kicking off with Wild Blue Yonder, Paul and his band set about warming up the audience who were clad in coats, hats, scarves and gloves due to the unexpected cold-snap.

With a rich and gravelly voice, no doubt helped along by the cigarettes he kept puffing, the modfather commanded a well-earned respect from the audience of all ages as he delivered hit after hit.

They say the old ones are the best, which was proved by the electric reception of Town Called Malice, which was drenched in angst and The Eton Rifles, which sparked a riot with fists, drinks and clothes being flung in all directions.

Up until this point I thought the forest had gone to bed, but a solitary bat then swooped over to see what was going on.

There was a great dynamic to the set, with punchy tracks like From The Floorboards Up, Shout To The Top and Changing Man balanced against the gentle Broken Stones and the emotional You Do Something To Me.

Wild Wood was given a new take, with an electro-beat intro as the stage was streaked with bright flashing light.

The song was particularly apt, not only for the forest backdrop, but also the lyrics 'Find your way out of the wild wild wood' as we, along with countless other gig-goers had difficulty finding our cars in the dark at the end of the night.

The punters certainly got their money's worth, with no less than three encores, brought to a perfect close with That's Entertainment.


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