Paul Carrack, Rain or Shine Tour

Orchard Theatre, Dartford

It’s easy to understand why Paul Carrack ensures that Dartford is included in tour dates year after year. He is virtually guaranteed a full house of buzzing fans up for a bit of audience participation at the appropriate time.

It was no different at The Orchard Theatre on Sunday when there was a sneaking suspicion numbers had been swelled even more following a BBC4 documentary which dubbed him The Man With The Golden Voice.

I prefer to think of him as the little man with the big soulful voice, although there is no doubt it is golden.

I was seeing the former Ace, Squeeze, Mike & the Mechanics, Roxy Music etc singer-musician for the fifth time and witnessed yet another peerless performance.

Showcasing his latest Rain or Shine album, Carrack swept onto the stage guitar in hand in customary style, doffed his distinctive pork pie hat, gave a thumbs up and embarked on another jam-packed programme.

Despite being close to his 63rd birthday, Carrack seems to have boundless energy, intent on making his shows about the music and not anodyne anecdotes.

First out of the trap were the theme linked Time Waits for No One and Life’s Too Short, the latter being the latest single. There were naturally more selections from Rain or Shine, but Carrack never shortchanges when it comes to his big hitters from the past.

There was a rare blip on his tender and moving version of Bruce Springsteen’s If I Should Fall Behind when he almost missed out a harmonica solo but made a swift recovery. He explained it afterwards to great amusement as a slight senior moment.

Superbly supported as usual by his six-piece band of two drummers, one his son Jack, sax, bass and lead guitars and keyboards, Carrack is a master at making covers sound fresh, bringing such classics as When My Little Girl is Smiling bang up to date.

No introduction is needed for his best known songs which are dropped into the running order like depth charges and require and get no introduction.

The Living Years from his Mike & the Mechanics days is always a solemn and sobering moment and Over My Shoulder and How Long - saved for the encore - had us all joining in the chorus.

Eyes of Blue, That’s All That Matters To Me, about his daughter giving up her hospital job to go travelling, and Brenda Lee’s Losing You are just three more examples of his high class varied programme.

See you next year...