Roy Wood, Robin 2, Bilston - review and pictures

Or at least that's the tradition in the Rawlins household, having been to see The Move and ELO icon for the last four years in a row.

Joining the Birmingham-born star on the rockin' roster last night were Black Country comedian Jonny Cole and all-female rock band JOANovARC.

Jonny was without doubt the star support with a short-but-sweet set filled with hilarious ditties, which had the packed-out Robin 2 in roars of laughter from start to end.

Among these witty musical treats were I Found Love In The Black Country, Pull An Ugly Bird and No Woman No Sky - the tune of which Jonny joked had been stolen from him by the late Bob Marley 40 years ago.

"I'm a very proud Black Country mon," beamed Jonny, in his thick regional accent.

"I remember when Walsall was a s******e.

"And all the kids had the same surname: 'gerrea'. Some were double-barrelled: 'gerrea-now'."

JOANovARC came next, led by sisters Sam and Shelley Walker.

The four-piece were hefty and powerful, but many of their songs lacked originality - though Shelley most certainly impressed on guitar.

The legendary Roy Wood graced the stage at around 10pm for a 70-minute-or-so set, filled with hits aplenty to fans' delight.

And despite being 71, Roy barely came up for air between songs; his vocal range impressive as ever, with a stunning tone and excellent range.

The rock Wizzard kicked off his part of the event with 1972 number California Man by The Move, before greeting the sold-out show declaring how 'nice' it was to be back at the venue. And the feeling was mutual.

Fan favourites then came thick and fast, with hits such as Wizzard's Ball Park Incident, and Fire Brigade and I Can Hear The Grass Grow by The Move, which had the crowd excitedly dancing and singing along.

The audience was also treated to renditions of newer songs by the Roy Wood Rock 'n' Roll Band, with whom he performed last night, with numbers such as Big Girl Blues and New York City going down a treat.

Angel Fingers and See My Baby Jive followed, before Roy and his highly-talented group played my personal favourites Flowers In The Rain and Blackberry Way.

"Here's the part where band normally goes off stage and fans shout and cheer for them to come back on," grinned Roy.

"I can't be bothered with that.

"I can't think of what to sing though," added Roy, goading the crowd. And they willingly played into his hands, begging for Wizzard's world-renowned Christmas song.

As the band donned Santa hats and launched into 1973 megahit I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, balloons and fake snow fell from the ceiling as the crowd danced and cheered below.

Another bostin' Christmas party in Bilston with the iconic Roy Wood - and one which truly signals the start of Christmas.

If you've not been to one of these shows before, I highly recommend you make it your mission to attend the next.