"You know," I overheard a man say after the Deep Purple show,"they weren't bad."

Taking into account classic English reserve, I think he meant the hard-rock legends were pretty damn good. They certainly were.

Singer Ian Gillan and co may be in their 60s but you wouldn't know it from the energy and commitment of their performance.

The band - Roger Glover on bass, Steve Morse on guitar, Ian Paice on drums, and keyboardist Don Airey - are a year into their Rapture of the Deep tour and their sheer joy at being on stage is infectious.

As is the current vogue among rock bands of a certain age, Purple were highlighting one particular album - 1972's classic Machine Head.

From the moment they launched into Pictures of Home, this was a terrific 90-minute journey through one of the best back catalogues in rock.

Head classics Lazy, Highway Star, Space Truckin' and, of course, Smoke on the Water, were present and correct and sounding much younger than their 35 years.

Nicely slotted in alongside them were Into the Fire, Fireball, Strange Kind of Woman and The Battle Rages On, plus two superb encores, Hush and Black Night.

This wasn't just a trip down memory lane by a band living on past glories.

Things I Never Said and the Rapture title track stand up well against the classics.

Gillan jokes he won't do Child in Time any more because the screaming would kill him.

But his voice was so good, you wonder if it might be time he reviewed that decision.