To have maintained a career as an entertainer for 50 years is one thing. But to have maintained the same blond, bog-brush hairstyle for 50 years is surely a unique accomplishment. Viewed from the grand tier at the Albert Hall, Joe Brown, 67, did not look appreciably different from the man who made a name for himself alongside stars such as Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and Billy Fury with a brief run of Top Ten hits in the early 1960s.

We were there to celebrate the remarkable anniversary with a special show to raise the curtain on a marathon tour to promote Brown’s new album, More of the Truth, released next month. And you could certainly feel the waves of “love and respect” referred to in an emotional introduction by the compere Bob Harris washing around the hall. “I thought you had to be dead before people talked about you like that,” Brown quipped in his chirpy Cockney accent.

A man of many talents that have remained largely hidden from the mainstream audience, Brown sang and played ukelele, fiddle, mandolin and guitar as he navigated his way through a vast repertoire of other people’s songs that included everything from a 1930s gospel chant (Better Leave That Liar Alone) to an Italian wedding waltz (Souvenir d’Alvito). There were forays into skiffle, bluegrass, English vaudeville and 1950s rock’n’roll with cameo performances from artists including Dave Edmunds, Dennis Locorriere, Chas & Dave, Jools Holland, Henry Gross, Sam Brown (daughter) and Pete Brown (son).

Oddly, over the course of a very long show, the only area of Brown’s legacy that was rather skirted round was the fleeting moment when he became a pop idol. And yet the one transcendental passage of the concert came when he performed his biggest hit, A Picture of You. Apparently cajoled into playing it by Mark Knopfler, who accompanied him, Brown seemed faintly abashed even to have brought up the song. But as he faithfully re-created every note and nuance exactly as remembered from the record, the years melted away and a strange magic filled the hall. It was like watching your life flash past in front of your eyes.

Tour continues: The Orchard, Dartford, Oct 10; Opera House, Blackpool, Oct 11; Victoria Hall, Stoke, Oct 12; and nationwide until Dec 21 2008

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