Wednesday 19/11/08 Tony Christie @ Cadogan Hall, London

“How rude! We've come all this way and he didn't even play Amarillo!” barks a sour faced sexagenarian to her poor, downtrodden husband in front of me as I leave the ornate Cadogan Hall. Having recently admitted his indifference to the omnipotent Peter Kay endorsed track, it was clear Tony Christie was going to give his most famous song a wide berth from the offset. Instead, and much to the grievance of many in the audience, tonight was about more important things – promoting his acclaimed new album 'Made In Sheffield'. Produced by Richard Hawley and with tracks written by Sheffield acts including Arctic Monkeys, Jarvis Cocker, Phil Oakey and of course Christie himself, it's a record that has given the singer some new-found credibility. However, judging by the two-thirds full Cadogan Hall tonight it sadly hasn't helped increase his popularity.

Skipping onstage, despite his 65 years Christie is exuberant and full of banter from the offset. Keen to get the crowd onside immediately, he announces “By the way, England are beating Germany one-nil!” before launching into Made In Sheffield track 'How Can I Entertain'. Perfectly showcasing his new style under the guidance of Richard Hawley, it has a sound entrenched in the past but unlike his more cabaret back-catalogue it's serious, engaging and packed with substance. The perfect gentlemen (we wouldn't expect any less), each interlude between songs is an opportunity for Christie to divulge an anecdote. A rousing rendition of the Jarvis Cocker and Hawley penned 'Born To Cry' has him quipping “They wrote this at four in the morning, which is why I can't understand what it's all about!”, while guitarist Shez is at the butt of Christie's jokes (“Friends call him Shez, we call him Mark”) and glowing admiration. Whereas such indulgent chats would get on your nerves watching a bog-standard indie band, from an old timer like Mr Christie it's a beguiling joy.

Either proving his memory is not what it was, or more feasibly that he's not overly familiar with his own album (tonight is the first complete live showcase of Made In Sheffield), pertinently the Alex Turner penned 'The Only Ones Who Know' sees Christie reading from the Autocue, squinting to see the lyrics. Unlike the decidedly cabaret 'Never Let You Down' earlier, it's a song that has Christie out of his comfort zone somewhat and had me fearing for the quality of the rest of the set. Fortunately, the plaintive Human League track 'Louise' momentarily quashes such doubts. A plaintive, emotionally driven version of the hit song, Christie looks genuinely moved and close to tears while singing the stand out moment of the set. Only the pre-encore, James Bond theme-esque 'Danger Is A Woman In Love' comes anywhere close to this height.

For the most part, tonight was engaging enough and pertinently showcased Christie's faultless singing voice and his genuine passion for these new songs. Yet, you can understand why some of the older audience members feel loose changed somewhat – only his 1971 hit 'I Did What I Did For Maria' had menopausal women screaming in the aisles like teenagers. In fact, one woman's hyperactive reaction to the track will stay with me till my grave. Imagine if he'd played 'Amarillo'?!