With the cancellation of Yanni, the Cliff Richard show became the least hip'n'cool concert of the summer season. Not that he, nor his enthusiastic and loyal audience which poured out in their thousands to see him, could care less about the whims of musical fashion.
Richard - now 72 and more than half a century on from his first hit - just went about entertaining in a polished show of rock'n'roll (his classic Move It), flashy 80s pop (Wired for Sound) and emotional ballads delivered with astonishing power (Ocean Days).
Say what you like about Richard, you can't deny he presents a professional but also engaging show which comes with excellent lighting, a snappy band (singer Suzie Furlonger outstanding) and plenty of energy.
At 50 minutes before the half-hour interval and another 70 afterwards, it was also good value and Richard, barely pausing for a breath or even a drink of water, just kept the songs and often amusing self-deprecating stories coming. Most young indie bands couldn't keep pace with him I'd bet.
There were flat spots: the duets with Furlonger lacked an emotional spark between them; when the male backing singers supported him in doo-wop and dance moves it looked like a musical theatre production more than a concert; and his cover of Little Richard's Rip It Up was pretty bloodless.