Those who find Lady Gaga flamboyant have probably never seen a show from Grace Jones.

The 61-year-old’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall, a collaboration with Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka, had more costume changes than a night at the panto. Highlights included a figure-hugging zebra suit (the very sight of which prompted a standing ovation from her adoring crowd) and a PVC number with matching tails (think an erotic version of Medusa).

While the spectacle inevitably overshadowed the songs, this was more than a musical catwalk.

Williams Blood proved that the Jamaican’s bellowing voice was still intact, while a thunderous reworking of The Police’s Demolition Man provided an opportunity for her excellent eight-piece band to let rip.

Jones sipped wine through a straw before beginning the breathy ballad La Vie En Rose.
Though if you were about to prance around a building owned by Her Majesty dressed in a backless red dress and G-string, you too might seek liquid encouragement.

Elsewhere, props weren’t in their right place (“somebody’s stolen my manikin”) and the giant projector set up behind her stopped working (“heads are going to roll”). Nothing, however, could prevent Jones from being impossibly good company, particularly during a funky encore of Pull Up To The Bumper and Slave To The Rhythm.
The lady’s gaga — but pop would be a duller place without Grace.