IT turns out that Mr Boe is actually a bit of a rocker, a bit of a Soul Man and likes to add a touch of gospel every now and again.

Starting off the evening with a Roy Orbison cover followed by The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore and Bridge Over Troubled Water I soon realised that this was not to be the show I was expecting and settled down for a night full of surprises.

Looking slim and trim, Alfie very rarely stood still and encouraged the audience to get to their feet and dance along with him. His enthusiasm and joy spread to the delighted crowd and stand and dance is exactly what they did.

We did get to the operatic section of the show, but even that was different than expected, delivered perched on a sofa accompanied by two guitarists.

From there we were treated to the song he is most famous for Bring Him Home from Les Mis, the crowd gave him a well-deserved standing ovation before it was once again time for a change. Someone shouted out for Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin, so Rock and Roll it was.

It may not have been quite as loud as Led Zep but with a good 20 people on stage in the band it was more than loud enough to satisfy the rocker in me.

It will come as no surprise to people that Alfie has a great voice and when that is combined with a group of equally talented singers and musicians then the results can be outstanding.

This may go down as my favourite gig of the year so far, due in equal parts to the talent on stage and discovering something that was new to me and the fact that it was such a surprise to expect one thing and to actually see and hear something so different.