Street brawl can't stop Jay Kay

In 1999, Paul McCartney played the Cavern in Liverpool for the first time in decades; last year U2 announced that they were reapplying for the job of "best band in the world", not to thousands of fans in a vast field, but to a few hundred punters in the Astoria; and Madonna played the relatively large Brixton Academy, still just a matchbox by her standards.

Of course, the media coverage these exclusive shows generated was vastly out of proportion to the number of people who could actually see the performers, a fact that organiser Carling has latched on to with this series of shows entitled "Carling Homecomings". Another big-name, small-venue concert will be announced next week.

Jamiroquai's smallest gig in 10 years was a real treat for the 300 competition winners, although it might be argued that bands aren't being too considerate to their fans when they only allow a minute percentage of them to watch. But seeing the whites of Jay Kay's eyes for perhaps the very first time was such an exhilarating experience for the lucky ones, that the noise often seemed as loud as an arena ovation.

Kay looked none the worse for wear after the previous night's obligatory brawl with tabloid photographers , during which he was headbutted. "I didn't go down," he boasted, to much cheering.

The small club on his home patch, Ealing, struggled to hold the fans on top of a 13-strong band, a barrage of Channel 4 camera men, and a singer well known for his uncommonly large hats. But those at the very front seemed to be having a near religious experience, not flinching at the sweat flying from Kay's body, and hanging on his every word as he reminisced like a guest on This Is Your Life.

The group charged through an array of not too dissimilar hit singles, including early songs they have avoided for years, such as When You Gonna Learn and Too Young To Die. But most impressive were the close-up looks of appreciation on the faces of fans and band alike. What with all those arena gigs and television appearances, they hadn't really seen each other for years.

Jay Kay starts his own Star Wars
ALBUM REVIEW: A Funk Odyssey
Gigs in London this week
Buy gig tickets online

Jamiroquai