WITH tickets for their UK tour starting at £90, The Rolling Stones have ensured that the common people never get to see them in person.

Fortunately there’s no shortage of cut-price replicas and Brighton’s Theatre Royal played host to one of the best – The Rolling Stones Story, a vaguely chronological tribute to the Stones’ rise to superstardom.

From the moment Jagger lookalike Paul Ashworth preened onstage and clapped his hands with those flared elbows it was clear we were on to a winner.

A brief history of the Stones projected onto the rear screen as the band launched into their early blues covers, from The Last Time through to Can’t Always Get What You Want, with a costume change in between reflecting the band’s evolution from clean-cut Beatles sidekicks to flamboyant badboys.

This first half saw Ashworth’s Jagger mannerisms and impeccable cheekbones drag him through some weak vocals - namely Wild Horses and Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Adrian Pounce played a subdued 60s/70s Keith Richards, brooding behind enormous sunglasses.

After the break the band really came alive, a rousing rendition of Start Me Up marking the Stones’ rise to world domination that led into the high tempo hits that showcased Ashworth’s snake hips and Pounce’s duck-walking Richards.

Soon the aisles were packed with nostalgic baby boomers rocking out to really well executed classics.

The instrumental work was great throughout, with a special mention to Mick Taylor impersonator Laurence Whiteley who spent much of the show in the background producing face-melting lead guitar that allowed the others to focus on the physicality of their characters.

From Brighton the band continue on a UK-wide tour that will provide a warm, nostalgic experience for Stones fans, with all the recognisable caricatures without the exorbitant ticket prices.

John Holden