Never getting to see the real Simon & Garfunkel on stage – live, just two men and a guitar – is a regret I shall take to my grave.

So to Fairfield Halls in Croydon I went, knowing The Simon & Garfunkel Story featuring Dean Elliott (Simon) and Joe Ringer (Garfunkel) would be the closest I’d get.

But let’s be straight, Paul Simon is part of the reason I love the English language and part of the reason I am a journalist – such was his impact on my formative years – so I felt uneasy about watching someone impersonate the great man.

As it turned out, Elliott and Ringer’s interpretation is part tribute act and part West End matinee, and to an ear so used to the original songs, it occasionally jarred.

But if you took the show as a whole – a celebration of 50 years since the release of the seminal The Sound of Silence – then it more than ticked the box.

With a supporting band that excelled, the pair sang and chatted their way through almost two hours of iconic music, memories and mirth.

The renditions of He was my Brother, Scarborough Fair, America and Feelin’ Groovy were the combo’s high points.

But when it was just Ringer, Elliott and his guitar – which was finger-picked perfectly – you could suspend reality, squint and fool yourself back to the 1960s.

Elliott’s Kathy Song was a moment in time, and when he and Ringer sat together for Old Friends and Bookends, terrific.

The finale was two-part – Ringer almost nailed Bridge over Troubled Water, and by the time The Boxer’s rousing chorus was reaching its crescendo the audience were applauding with their feet.

I grew up on Simon & Garfunkel, and while this Simon & Garfunkel comes with a heartfelt recommendation to any fan, their slight shortcomings do serve to remind you just how untouchably perfect the original duo remains.

And maybe that’s the point.