Concert review - Plan B, Cannock Chase Forest

Plan B

Cannock Chase Forest

Concert review by Claire Fry

More than 5,000 music fans flocked to Staffordshire to watch Plan B take to the stage.

Dressed in his trademark grey suit and black tie, the star rocked Cannock Chase Forest last night.

Click on the image to the right for more photos

The rain held off for the first of the two Forestry Commission gigs taking place this weekend.

Plan B greeted the crowds with Writing's on the Wall and played every top hit from his critically-acclaimed album The Defamation of Strickland Banks, including Welcome to Hell and She Said.

He threw in his own version of Paulo Neutini's Coming Up Easy before welcoming the DJ Faith SFX who got the crowds rocking.

There was then a complete change in tempo and costume, starting with Stand By Me, followed by tracks from his new Album Ill Manors album. The crowd lapped up every second of his one-and-a-half hour set.

Jennifer Symmonds, aged 57, from Cannock, said: "There is a big group of us that go every year and we loved it."

Matt Lowe, 33, from Lichfield added: "Plan B was amazing, and was even better than I expected."

Mike Taylor, concert manager for the Forestry Commission who came up with the idea for the first gig in 1997, said: "It has really evolved over the years and we get quite a diverse range in ages and people coming along."

Tonight Will Young will be on stage.