His hit sitcom might be called Everybody Hates Chris but it seems that everybody loves Chris Rock. The stand-up superstar's first UK tour sold out in hours and touts were doing brisk business selling tickets for the 42-year-old American's opening London show last night.

So is Rock worth the fuss? Most definitely. Swaggering on in a sharp, shiny suit, he hit his stride within seconds, swiftly delivering mischievous thoughts on everything from Britney to Britain. How did she lose custody of her kids when OJ Simpson kept his despite killing their mother? As for darts, how is that considered a sport here? "You're setting the bar way too low."

If it was his English references that won over the largely but by no means exclusively black crowd (not that it needed much winning over) it was his formidable, laser-guided material on politics in general and the US presidential campaign in particular that kept them onside.

Rock is clearly an Obama man, yet he is an equal opportunities satirist, finding a rich seam of humour in both the black candidate, who he remarked resembles an ex-boy band member, and the female contender.

On reflection he probably gave Obama an easier ride, putting the boot into Hillary Clinton by suggesting that being the spouse of a former president was no job qualification: "I've known my wife for 10 years, but if she got onstage you would not laugh at all."

This was Rock at his peak. Pertinent, insightful and riotously funny. Few comedians have explained when it is acceptable to use the "N-word" as succinctly. And considering that his show has only been performed a handful of times the delivery was silk-smooth.

The only lines that jarred were those where he added footnotes for British fans, upsetting the rhythm. Such as when he explained how Seabiscuit - "the racehorse" - was treated better than his ancestors: "Seabiscuit wore horseshoes, my grandaddy was barefoot."

Two-thirds of the way in, however-the agenda shifted as he moved away from current affairs into the eternal battle of the sexes.

His observational subject matter here - what women want in life, what men want in bed - felt routine by comparison. Yet even here his verbal panache and charisma kept the laughs flowing. With a cheeky grin constantly playing on his face it was hard to take offence at even the bawdiest banter.

There were moments last night when one really felt in the presence of a comedy legend. Rock might be a successful Hollywood actor but he is a truly natural stand-up comedian. Discussing the use of steroids he joked that anyone would take performance-enhancing drugs if it would help their career, including him.

The stark fact is that Rock is so good the drug that would enhance this kind of near-peerless performance has not been invented.

More shows tonight and tomorrow then 13, 22-25 January at Hammersmith Apollo (0844 844 4748) and 26 January at Brixton Academy, (0844 477 2000).