SATURDAY night in Bournemouth brought a hot date with not one but two very special, talented and lovely young men.

Singer songwriter James Blunt, who’s defied his critics and become something of a national treasure and Twitter hit, was supported on tour by upcoming star Jamie Lawson.

Both are good friends and songwriters with the seemingly unstoppable Ed Sheeran, and put on a phenomenal show for a packed BIC.

Lawson impressed with his previous hit I Wasn’t Expecting That, plus Cold in Ohio, Someone for Everyone and A Little Mercy, and will surely have won some new fans.

Blunt, who first shot to fame in 2005 with You’re Beautiful, surpassed expectations with a stellar performance on the last UK date of his AfterLove tour.

At times heartbreaking, at others rocky, it was always pitch perfect and regularly laugh-out loud funny. In fact, it felt like a concert and stand-up rolled into one.

Blunt strode onto stage in an Evel Knievel t-shirt and skinny jeans, grabbed his guitar and burst straight into a fabulously rocky rendition of Heart to Heart.

Accompanied by his four-piece band, he then sprang into an electro-infused I’ll Take Everything, energetically kicking over the piano stool to play the ivories.

Sitting alongside Blunt’s more trademark love songs, such as Goodbye My Lover, was the political Someone Singing Along, which he wrote about Donald Trump.

There were plenty of laughs too. Blunt joked about being ‘Ed Sheeran’s b****’ when he supported the younger singer on a US tour, and openly admitted: ‘I sing like a girl’.

It’s his quick-wit, intelligence and self-deprecation which have won him thousands of Twitter followers, but it’s matched by his lively stage presence and musicianship.

Blunt proved himself to be very versatile, jumping between musical styles and regularly swapping instruments.

We were treated to the beautiful melody of Carry You Home, then a calypso-influenced Carry Me Home and party track Bartender.

During 1973, Blunt even jumped onto the top of the stand-up piano, pretended to surf and took photos of the crowd on his phone, He regularly split up the audience to sing different parts and had us all clapping, dancing and cheering to his beat.

After years being mocked as a soft man in pop, it’s fantastic to see Blunt getting his own back and putting on such a great entertaining gig to people of all ages.

Dripping in sweat from the effort, he gave us one last treat with Bonfire Heart and was off with the parting words: ‘Take care Bournemouth, see you again soon’.

Let’s hope that’s a promise.