The silence throughout the first half of Roy Bailey and Robb Johnson's recreation of First World War concept album Gentle Men was a testament both to the pair's performance and the power of the songs.

Gentle Men was based on the wartime experiences of Johnson's grandfathers Ernest Johnson and Henry Jenner.

Johnson's carefully chosen words conjured up a world of death, mud and horror, and Bailey's beautiful character-filled voice felt like the ghosts of the past were coming back to tell the story.

Johnson's sparse acoustic guitar ensured not one word got dropped, while the between-song spoken sections made the two subjects of the show feel even more real.

The second half focused on life after the war - from Ernest's experiences on the road with the Golden Serenaders to Jenner's return to Ypres to pay tribute to his fallen comrades.

One could feel the tension in the room release with warm applause and even a closing singalong.

But more than 15 years on from Johnson's original album his reworked later songs underlined that the horror of war isn't something confined to the past.

References to the Second World War, Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan reminded everyone there are still mothers grieving and sons losing their fathers.