Within minutes of Deacon Blue taking to the Westonbirt stage an enthusiastic crowd forgot their picnic baskets and surged to the front, to join, as Ricky Ross wryly put it, his ‘middle-aged mosh pit’.

They, and us, may now be of a certain age, but we haven’t forgotten how to party, and for two hours the band's energy was infectious.

From the opening bars of the Hipsters, through Fergus Sings the Blues and the iconic Raintown to an emotive Chocolate Girl, the crowd were hooked.

Over the years the band have diversified, with members taking up acting and media presenting careers, it’s also suffered loss, with the premature death of founder member, Graeme Kelling.

These factors appear to have added to the intensity and insight of their music. Harmonies with, wife, Lorraine Mcintosh are instinctive, and Ross’ lyrics have clearly stood the test of time.

Their new album, A New House, is due to be released in September, refreshingly the band only gave a nod to this, preferring to keep energy levels at a peak with yet more old favourites like Real Gone Kid and Wages Day.

Twist and Shout and, of course, Dignity were saved to the last, and with Ross leaving the stage with the words that he had the best job in the world, there were few in the crowd to disagree that we had just witnessed one of the best front men in the world.