Phil Collins, 24 hours late in kicking off the UK leg of his Dance Into The UK 97 tour, made it worth the wait.

The former Genesis lead singer had to put back his opening night after his equipment got stuck in France.

He squeezed 12 musicians and backing singers on to the central circular stage, dashing round and round with an ease which belied his 46 years.

There was a gentle reminder from the multi-millionaire to remember the homeless before the conscious-provoking Another Day In Paradise.

He also performed a specially written song called Lorenzo, a tribute to the boy who inspired the film Lorenzo's Oil. Unfortunately it was impossible to make out most of the words.

And if a lot of the songs were about relationships breaking down, then that is something Collins knows only too much about, as he wryly remarked before Do You Remember?

He was in fine voice, although the audience took a while to warm to the African theme.

They faithfully applauded every song, but it was not until Easy Lover, two thirds of the way through, that they really got on to their feet.

From then on they didn't sit down, as Collins played a series of upbeat hits, including the ever-popular You Can't Hurry Love and Sussudio, proving the old ones really are the best.

*Tickets for Thursday's cancelled performance are valid for tonight(SAT).