As The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster reached the outrageously heavy chorus of their opening song.

An enthusiastic member of the audience climbed halfway up one of Concorde 2's floor-to-roof columns and began humping it wildly.

Beneath him the outstretched arms of the crowd supported singer Guy McKnight as he crowd-surfed away from the stage he had just stepped on to. "Give me your heart, 'cos I feel like the Tin Man!" he screamed as the band gave out lurching blasts of guitar and tom-tom drums, the rhythm staggering as violently as the zombie movements of lead guitarist Andy Huxley.

This was the band's Christmas party and McKnight was once again possessed by ghosts of rock stars past. The spirit of Joey Ramone took control during Rise Of The Eagles, causing Guy to bash his microphone against the side of his head with gabba-hey abandon.

Then it was Jim Morrison who seemed to be standing on the monitors, conducting the crowd with his mic stand between gut-wrenching screams, before shoving this improvised baton down the back of his T-shirt and twitching around the stage.

Back on home ground in Brighton at the end of a long year which has seen the Matchbox perform at the Montreux Rock Festival, release some outstanding singles and gain increasing recognition for their immensely exciting live shows, the band provided a shocking adrenaline thrill with every song.

With the opportunity to take their Psychosis Safari overseas in the New Year, McKnight and his crazy, elegant colleagues will surely reduce most of Europe to a sweaty, joyful heap during 2005.