Playing a gig on the night that John Peel died is like holding the World Cup final the day after Pele passes away.

The performance would have to be the musical equivalent of the 1970 Brazilian demolition of Italy to even come close to articulating such a profound loss. On Tuesday night, British Sea Power did the great man proud.

It helped that the Brighton-based band are among the best and most recent incarnation of the kind of musical eccentrics which Peel loved to champion.

The foursome stirred all sorts of styles into the mix, including blues, punk, rock and even a little hint of Russian Cossack dancing. The set was made all the stronger by the fact that only a handful of the songs came from their inspired debut album The Decline Of British Sea Power.

Live, with their tight melodies, raw but expert musicianship and mastery of a good rhythm, the comparisons with one of Peel's favourite bands, Joy Division, become a little clearer.

But while the Manchester legends made hypnotically dark and troubled music when, in the late Seventies, the world could only get better, today British Sea Power deliver a positive message with hopeful lyrics, just as things seem to be getting worse.

Fittingly, a blazing set of foot-stomping tunes and crowd-pleasing riffs comes to an end with crescendo after crescendo of clattering guitars and bass and noisy, almost annoying, feedback. Just as John would have liked.

Tonight, when music lovers across the country were in mourning, the brilliance of British Sea Power meant that not everyone went to bed feeling sad.