THEY scooped ice cream from tubs with wooden spoons or winced at the chill of nutty choc ices when the music paused for breath in the interval at the plush theatre on the old prom – where, half a century earlier, some of them would have thronged with the teddy boys in fluorescent socks and liquorice-stick trousers towards the girls with beehive hair, seamed stockings and suspenders. Rock and Roll was young then and riding the carousel.

Now it’s mature and wise, but its fans and the players are rejuvenated, and they link arms with the ghosts of their own high days, when they hear again those chords thunder through the amplifiers. So it was when Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings visited the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton to entertain a packed house with cajun, blues, jazz, soul, skiffle – all those styles that piped into Rock and Roll.

Cool as ever in denims and shades, Wyman, 73, introduced the boys and the one girl in his band. She is Beverley Skeete, a singer of such range, depth and power that she would tremble the souls of those hopefuls in TV’s silly talent shows. "Do You Like Good Music?" she sang. The answer was obvious, as she swayed her hips and kicked out flashes of her crimson petticoat. Overlooking the stage from his organ was Georgie Fame, sitting straight as a preacher in his black jacket and white shirt, his husky, jazz-smoked voice carrying over the auditorium. On keyboards was the superb Geraint Watkins. The splendid Nick Payn and Frank Mead blew and stuttered their saxophones, while the drumming of Graham Broad and the consummate bass of Wyman itself held the rhythm for the virtuosos, including their old pals Terry Taylor and Albert Lee on guitars. Gary US Bonds was the guest singer, his voice as soulful as the rolling river outside. The other star of a wonderful, stomping, clapping night was the new Floral Pavilion with its generously spaced chairs and compact stage, a great venue for rock and roll.

DAVID CHARTERS