Croydon has become a regular stop on the Fairport Convention itinerary during their 40 year road trip and the band, and their fans, reconvened at Fairfield Halls last Thursday night.

Right from the start we heard strong vocal harmonies over well-crafted songs, laced with fiddle, guitar and bass - and that was just the support act.

Special guests on this tour are Tiny Tin Lady. The four young Northern lasses are writing and performing well beyond their years and whose sheer exuberance is lighting up this winter tour.

2007 is a big year for Fairport and the combination of a ruby anniversary, a fine new album and playing host to some crazy, talented kids threatening to steal the show, has had a galvanising effect.

Always a great live band, they are playing with extra verve and bite, particularly on the older material, where The Deserter and Tam Lin crackle with energy once more - and when TTL's 16-year-old Beth Gibbins emerged to take a verse in Who Knows Where the Time Goes, the Fairfield rang with spontaneous applause.

The front line each take their turn in the spotlight as Simon Nicol and Chris Leslie share out the vocals, while Ric Sanders unique fiddle style is as key to the current Fairport sound as Dave Swarbrick's was in years gone by.

Praise too for the sometimes overlooked Fairport engine room, stalwart bassist Dave Pegg and Gerry Conway on drums.

The complex song structures and variable time signatures require a rhythm section par excellence and the Pegg/Conway combo never missed a beat.

From traditional folk ballads like Sir Patrick Spens, via rockers such as Waiting for the Tide to Come In to the Fairport anthem Meet On The Ledge, this band continues to set the pace.