INTRODUCED in his pre-match preamble as the 'Rodfather, back to save the world,' Mr Stewart proceeded to remind us on Thursday not only what a great performer he is but also what a helluva back catalogue he has accumulated – a combination that made for one of the most enjoyable concerts I have witnessed in a very long time.

OK, it's partly an age thing, I admit – I was a schoolgirl when Rod first started churning out hits and stuff you listened to in your formative years tends to stick with you all your life. But watching the main man, strutting with that trademark cocksure swagger around the stage looking so incredibly well-preserved, his scruffily coiffed blonde locks as plentiful as ever, it was very hard to believe that he is 64 – and that so much time has elapsed.

On the massive stage, spanning most of one side of the stadium and flanked by huge screens, Rod kicked off with Some Guys Have All The Luck, a well chosen opener – after all he has done rather well for himself – which introduced us to his superb rock'n'roll band and trio of colour-coordinated backing singers.

He had promised a mixed bag of classic hits and surprises and this he gave us. As well as the belting ballads Reason to Believe, Handbags and Gladrags and The First Cut is The Deepest and a particularly gorgeous rendition of I Don't Wanna Talk About It, all delivered from the heart with that trademark rich melodic huskiness, we had an Irish hoe down in the form of Dirty Ol' Town, accompanied by fiddle, banjo, piano accordion and himself on acoustic guitar. And from his forthcoming album, by complete contrast, came Love Train, that terrific soul number by the O'Jays which never fails to get the dancing started.

The theme of football recurred constantly, old footage appearing on the back screen from time to time – some Argyle goal-scoring brought cheers – then a rousing rendition of Hot Legs was the excuse for Rod to use his once practically pro-level kicking skills to send footballs way out into the crowd.

We Are Sailing saw the entire almost sell-out crowd on pretty impressive backing vocals – a very moving experience to be part of. But it was Maggie May that made hairs on the back of the neck stand up as 20,000 fans bellowed along absolutely word perfect, before Rod returned for a storming encore to conclude with Do You Think I'm Sexy? (The answer by the way is a resounding 'yes'!)

The Rodfather may not be able to save the world but during his nigh-on two and a half hour set at Home Park he proved that, to those of us who grew up with his songs, he is still a 'rock' god!