All things considered, last night was a good for one multiculturalism and dear old Doves did their bit by inviting the 30-strong London Bulgarian Choir to join them for a BBC Electric Prom that came frustratingly close to being one of 2009’s great concert events.

The two camps were a delightful contrast: one being badly dressed post‑punks with instruments to hand and two No 1 albums under their belts; the other neatly turned out traditionalists with only their voices to share and a CD available only on their web site or at concerts.

Once they started collaborating, the combination brought out the best of both, most staggeringly on the former instrumental Firesuite where band played and choir wailed over them, turning what had merely been a half‑remembered album opener into an unforgettable tour de force. “They’re giving me the tingles,” cooed lead Dove Jimi Goodwin afterwards. There were no dissenters.

That, though, was as bold and brilliant as it got, for (excluding their Doves-free slots that book-ended the encore) as choir were immediately relegated to the role of multi-layered backing vocalists. Even here though, on Kingdom Of Rust where they added Ennio Morricone-esque gravitas or Catch the Sun where they were as uplifting as Polyphonic Spree, the Bulgarians made already fine songs even better, transforming the good to great, the earthbound to celestial.

More frustrating still, for too much of the set, the choir had no part to play and were marooned at the back of the stage in darkness, not underused but simply unused.

As is their good-natured way, even without assistance Doves were more than adequate on Pounding or Black And White Town as the choir shuffled uncomfortably behind them.

Yet there was only the sense of a wonderful, boundary-pushing opportunity being missed before our eyes and ears