This was not so much a concert as an homage between the packed audience and Cliff Richard.

Inevitably the evening had an extra emotional edge, given the BBC privacy controversy that Cliff bluntly told the eager crowd “turned my life upside down”.

A reassuring roar of applause and tide of genuine goodwill greeted Cliff as he took to the stage all in black two days after celebrating his 78th birthday.

It was emphatically not just the usual polite welcome for a popular performer but something stronger in spirit.

The loyalty of Cliff fans stretches back to the late 1950s, and the decades rolled into a wave of support as he opened with Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, Buddy Holly’s Peggy Sue and a romping version of the Everly Brothers’ hit Wake Up Little Susie.

Chirpy and chatty Cliff, looking fitter and leaner than many 28-year-olds, swept into a superb and immaculately performed set that neatly summed up his rise from yet another young Elvis copy to a classy solo artist spanning different styles and contrasting decades.

Early rockers such as Move It reminded us where Cliff started and also that this is a fine rock song.

Cliff’s easy style leant itself smoothly to slower lonesome songs like the Sixties’ hit The Next Time and moving into the Seventies he reminded us that Miss You Nights, written by Dave Townsend, is a great love song and for many the best thing Cliff has recorded.

One advantage of being a long-established artist is that you can pick and choose your best backing singers and musicians and Cliff’s band sounded like a top pedigree outfit; melodic, tight, punchy when needed and firing up songs with some sparkling lead guitar from Bobby Harrison and some soaring saxophone.

Cliff joked before singing a nostalgic The Young Ones – “I’d like to dedicate this to anyone under 78 and a half” – and said of his 60 years in the singing business: “I didn’t even think I would become 60, let alone have a career that long.”

The Beatles’ Love Me Do and Michael Jackson’s Beat it were welcome surprise covers and Cliff’s songs with religious overtones included the new Miracle Of Love and a singalong Mistletoe And Wine, surely the earliest performed Christmas songs this year?

His single Rise Up, delivered with a dose of defiance, was a response to the anxiety he has suffered for the past two years and is from the new album of the same name.

The new single Reborn had a similar message set on a strong bass platform.

Inevitably his biggest hit We Don’t Talk Anymore was saved for a rousing closing encore.

Cliff is not everyone’s cup of tea, but this was a consummate performance from an artist who knows how to please his fans and has done so consistently for decades.