When was the last time a French band played at the UEA? Probably before their football team were World Cup winners and long before the Euro bought you a baguette in Paris.

When was the last time a French band played at the UEA? Probably before their football team were World Cup winners and long before the Euro bought you a baguette in Paris.

With the French footballers struggling out in the Far East, Air seemed determined to show that France can be good at some things as they warmed up for a support slot with New Order in London the next day.

On stage, Air lack the eccentricity of Barthez, the pace of Henry or the flair of Pires, but what they have in abundance is plenty of rock-star cool a'la Michel Platini.

The Gallic duo is beefed up to a four piece on stage and they have a robotic and hypnotic presence that recalls Kraftwerk or Sparks in their prime.

Saying that, though, the crowd seems to take a while to warm to Air, as the first couple of tracks are mainly instrumental.

Only when the vocals come in on Playground Love, from the soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola film The Virgin Suicides does the crowd start to move.

The band aren't helped by the fact that 1998's hit album Moon Safari is what the music press would label “a coffee table classic” – background music to you and me.

That album's best known tracks, Kelly Watch The Stars, and Sexy Boy are left until the encore, and by then, the band have more than proved that they can recreate their sound for a live crowd.