Rod Stewart - KC Stadium, Hull

Now Sir Rod, Rod Stewart played probably his first ever gig of his career in Hull at the KC stadium. "It's my first time here in Hull, though I could have played here in the 60's" he joked.

Following in the style of his friend Elton John, Sir Rod has chosen to play outdoor venues in cities that their tours never usually visit.

Entitled the Hits tour, the gig opens up with the Sam Cooke classic, Havin A Party: it was a good way to warm up his talented band and the crowd. Looking as dapper as ever his energetic performance defied his years. The threatened rain held off and he held the capacity crowd in the palm of his hand.

Rod Stewart has had a long career and it is hard to think of any of today's young artists achieving the same. He talks to the fans between the songs as if they are his friends and many have followed his career from the early days.

Footage plays of his dad as he performs This Old Heart of Mine, which brings a personal touch to the gig. Whether the knighthood has given him a new lease of life or not he played to the audience and seemed to have been given a boost.

He walks down into the first row of the fans during Downtrain, greeting the fans and even signing a few autographs, much to their delight. Signed footballs are kicked out into the audience as Stewart sings the Faces classic from 1971, Stay With Me. He has been doing this for a long time and the interaction with the audience makes it more meaningful.

Images of Scotland are shown during Every Beat of My Heart.

After a 10 minute interval it is back to the hits. He has now changed and performs Rhythm of My Heart followed by his first Number 1, Maggie May. The obligatory acoustic session follows with You're In My Heart and his version of the Cat Stevens track, The First Cut Is The Deepest.

His 3 female backing singers worked hard throughout the gig and added a new dimension to the songs. They even get to perform a track themselves as Stewart goes off for a costume change. You could imagine then singing Young Hearts Run Free when they auditioned for the band as they did a great cover.

Saving the big uptempo tracks until the end, Baby Jane and Hot Legs take the tempo up before Sailing brings the gig to a close. Did he play Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Of course he did and the fans loved it as it was the encore.

The fireworks that followed were nearly as spectacular as the gig. Hull City FC might have been promoted to the premiership but tonight their stadium hosted a gig by a star who is still in the premiership. Excellent.