Robbie Williams, Brighton Centre.

ROBBIE Williams is a pop star at the height of his powers.

The 24-year-old made a triumphant return to Sussex last night for a sold-out Brighton Centre show.

All tickets for the concert were snapped up within six hours of going on sale last September.

Fans started queuing at 10am to secure a spot at the front and tickets later changed hands outside the centre for up to £70.

Williams and his six-piece band bounded on stage to the Star Wars theme before launching into opening track Let Me Entertain You.

The singer's mid-song announcement - "I am Robbie Williams, and I entertain" - set the tone for what followed.

He treated fans to a string of hits and a sizeable chunk of second album I've Been Expecting You, peppering his act with jokes and audience participation.

Williams has made a rapid transition from burnt-out teen idol to fully-fledged, hard-rocking superstar.

His fans now include middle-aged couples and twenty-something lads - but his core audience remains female.

They screamed along while the singer, dressed in a blue polo shirt, baggy trousers and trainers, bounced through his 90-minute set.

Mixing comedy voices with references to the West Pier, weather and one-liners, at times the singer seemed tailor-made for panto.

Williams changed into a dinner jacket and tie for the encore with John Barry-sampling number one hit song Millennium.

The band followed it with the now-traditional thrash version of Take That's Back For Good, which the singer performed from the seat of what can only be described as a motorised toilet.

It paved the way for the ballad Angels, the hit which introduced him to a wider audience.

The capacity crowd knew the lyrics perfectly and the star was content to let them sing it, only joining in on the final chorus.

Tim Bowden

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