LAST night I was lucky enough to see ten times Grammy Award winner George Benson return to Bournemouth after a two year absence and it was well worth the wait.

George and his six piece backing band took to the stage to rapturous applause from the enthusiastic crowd and opened with Love Times Love quickly followed by three instrumentals including Nature Boy from the In Flight album.

This opening set the tone a master class in guitar playing deliver in two far too short hours but covering a career that has spanned nearly 55 years.

The set list moved smoothly between Soul, Jazz, Funk and Pop, showing just what a talented musician George is and also served as a reminder of the versatility of the man whilst also showcasing the individual talents of the other musicians sharing the stage with him.

The stage set up was quite intimate compared to some of the big production tours that visit the BIC but was all the better for it, the sounds and lights were set up just right and complemented the evening perfectly.

As expected the guitar playing was immense and the singing voice has held up remarkably well considering the use it has had over the years. In fact its easy to forget that he started his career as a session guitarist and only started adding vocals a number of years into his career.

The crowd was obviously well versed with Georges extensive back catalogue and the seated venue soon turned into a standing show with the introduction of Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You and Feel Like Making Love.

Those who weren't already on their feet got up when the first few bars of Turn Your Love Around rang out immediately followed by Never Give Up On a Good Thing, In Your Eyes and Shiver. George encouraged everyone to turn the night into a party and they did just that.

This was an excellent show from a man that has been at the top of his game since before I was born and it was great to see people a lot younger than me at the gig enjoying watching a true master at work.