WITH the real thing either moved on, retired or charging ridiculous amounts of money for tickets, the touring tribute act is big business at the moment.

The Beatles, The Who, George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Clash and many many others all have numerous different versions of themselves on the road at any one time. The Stones are no exception and on Friday night at the Pavilion we were treated to The Rolling Stones Story.

The great thing about this kind of show is that the band know exactly what the crowd want to hear and rarely fail to deliver a set packed full of the songs that made the band's fortune and have become etched on the psyche of a generation.

This show did just that and more. With a large projected backdrop showing archive pictures of the Stones and film of worldwide events married up with facts about the band and the songs, ‘The Stones’ took to the stage and delivered an excellent set of classic rock and roll tunes. Going right back to the 1960s with a young band just starting out complete with Brian Jones the show took us through those early years and early hits. As the story unfolds Jones is replaced by Mick Taylor who is in turn replaced by Ronnie Wood and the hits keep coming. From Satisfaction and Street Fighting Years to my personal favourite Waiting On A Friend and the Dylan cover Like A Rolling Stone the band have the look and the sound just right.

The band has the looks, mannerisms and most importantly the sound spot on throughout a two-hour plus set. With a show of this quality the audience could not fail to have a great time and all the people I spoke to afterwards were impressed enough to want to return the next time the guys are in town. Mick may not be able to get any satisfaction but The Rolling Stones Story supplies enough for everyone else. A great night.