If the mark of a man who enjoys his job is turning up early for work then Paul Weller must be having a ball. Twenty minutes earlier than advertised Weller was on stage, neatly turned out in pressed, beige trousers, black jumper and orange scarf, raring to go. Two hours later he was still there, still looking smart and still scouring his back catalogue.

He may have been famous for almost three decades, but the work ethic Weller acquired in Woking continues to drive him on. Despite countless blips in his career, he has never considered reforming his old band The Jam, with whom he could make a mint touring. This May he bounced back with All Is Now, his best record in a decade, and he has hardly been off the road since. In February he receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brits, long overdue recognition for an artist whose audience at a packed Alexandra Palace was 50 per cent under 25.

Scattered throughout the set were songs from All Is Now that ranged from the fast, spiky Top 10 single From the Floorboards Up to The Pebble and the Boy, an eerie ballad for which Weller discarded his guitar and played piano. For the first 40 minutes, however, it was mostly mellow, midtempo stuff that suited a voice that has long since lost its angsty edge and grown warm and nicely husky. There was a folk twang to Early Morning Rain, Up In Suzie’s Room had a lovely, loping melody and Peacock Suit was a toe-tapping triumph. Yet, with next to no movement on stage, the energy levels remained low. Out the Sinking was way too tame, Gone In Places had no guts and Porcelain Gods picked up only at its rocking outro.

After that though, Weller woke up and turned Walk On Gilded Splinters into a magnificent mêlée of rock, funk and tambourine shaking. Wild Wood was gentle but went down a treat with fans who took over the chorus; You Do Something To Me was breathtakingly brilliant; and the Style Council’s Long Hot Summer, shorn of its cocktail jazz, had improved with age.

Towards the end of the evening came what the whole crowd had hoped for — a handful of Jam classics. In The Crowd and That’s Entertainment were great to hear again, but it was A Town Called Malice that stole the show.

It would have been a fabulous finale had Tim Burgess not been brought on at the end. Why oh why? When you’re Weller, you don’t need B-list guests.

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