Big Star reunions may not carry the same excitement as the original Missouri reformation but that is not to diminish their appearance at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in the slightest.

For those who were too young or too unborn to experience the original line-up, there is a huge thrill in seeing Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens onstage alongside The Posies’ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, two men who were born to play in this band. After reclaiming ‘In The Street’ from That 70s Show, Big Star went from strength to strength. Chilton looks nothing like the pop-rock god some might expect him to be.

Dressed in a beige suit with the kindly demeanour of a favoured high school teacher, he is unassuming until he opens his mouth on ‘The Ballad of el Goodo’ and that glorious sound comes out. When Auer, Stringfellow and Chilton harmonise, it borders on transcendent. A jetlagged Jody Stephens is still a better drummer than 99% of the world’s drummers and it is to his credit that his vocal performances on ‘Way Out West’ and ‘For You’ are in no way overshadowed by his bandmates. Even thirty-something years after the fact, it is easy to see how this band inspired the likes of R.E.M, The Replacements and Cheap Trick.

The cynical still gripe about Big Star’s reunion gigs but after what Chilton and Stephens have endured, nobody with a heart could deny them the opportunity to bask in their fans’ adoration. And adored they were and will continue to be.

Pic: Rachel Lipsitz