Terry Reid

Norwich Arts Centre

When Katie from The Apprentice recently turned down Alan Sugar's job offer, she received a fair deal of flak.

However, as an injudicious career move it seems but a minor glitch compared to Terry Reid's legendary refusal of the frontman gig with the nascent Led Zeppelin.

While he may be ambivalent about the episode, as he took the stage for this solo concert, one wondered whether he could dispel the musty aura of rock lore his name evokes.

A likeable cove, Reid initially astounds simply by being more Keef-like in phrasing and demeanour than Keith Richards himself.

But as the songs and '60s anecdotes roll by (including tales of japes involving Graham Nash and Steve Marriott), his vocal mastery becomes apparent. Of his own compositions, the plaintive, folky Brave Awakening and wry There's Too Many People in the World stood out, but it was the soulful, reimagined covers that particularly impressed.

After a storming Baby it's You, Reid mesmerised with a lurching, percuss-ive version of the Beach Boys' Don't Worry Baby, reworked as a samba.

Passionate and clearly as smitten with his music as ever, Terry Reid here demonstrated why he deserves to be remembered as much more than a rock 'n' roll footnote.