One of these days a secret gig is going to be so secret that no one will even know it’s on. Luckily this was not the case for Blur at Rough Trade East. After Graham Coxon tweeted a couple of choice hints about the show on Sunday, rumour became fact when the NME revealed 150 ‘golden tickets’ would be available from Brixton Academy on Monday afternoon.

Avoiding the carnage that was the Rough Trade Radiohead coup, Beggars Banquet successfully ensured that just the right number of people knew about the gig – making it just about intimate enough to carry on the mega-bucks Midlife-flogging campaign without annoying the council. It seems Damon and the boys’ comeback looks to be every bit as lucrative as they could have imagined (maybe Alex James can cancel that DIY This Morning slot he had planned) and the nineties world-conquerors continue their march to the reformed glory that awaits at Glastonbury and Hyde Park.

And best believe, this was a performance of spine-tingling nineties nostalgia that would have had any self-respecting indie-boy in his late twenties reaching for the Fila velour zip –up and wiping a boozy tear from a misty eye. Blur smashed through a stunning set list that didn’t miss much (‘London Loves’ was sadly absent) proved that Blur really are one of the great bands of the last 20 years. And Damon seems to have learnt to sing live now too.

Michael Wylie-Harris