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Cast No Shadow from last Nights gig.

Turning up, playing the new single and looking sanctimonious is often deemed to be sufficient effort for a charity show.For Pity's Sake, compered by comedian Russell Brand in aid of Focus ("to get people off drugs, rather than get drugs off people"), was different and not merely because of its eye-watering £50 entrance fee and a rare Noel Gallagher solo show.

This was an audience not to be trifled with. Leery, beery gangs of tracksuited, Asbo-wielding blokes hurling lager over each other ensured the unbearably crowded Koko's floors were as slippery as polished ice.

And when the mob spotted Liam Gallagher gazing down upon them from the gods, they chanted his name throughout The Holloways' hopeless sub-Levellers chunter. Brand begged them (the crowd, not the band) to stop. They chanted louder and threw lager at him.

Indeed, it was the sort of evening where DJ Kelly Osbourne (daughter of singer Ozzy and his X-Factor judge wife Sharon) wisely declined to display her breasts, despite the offer chanted by a section of the crowd who referred to themselves as "the lads".

Then, just as it seemed things couldn't get any worse, they got significantly better. Last night's turbo-charged acoustic-set by Carl Barat's new band Dirty Pretty Things ("they don't even have their own instruments!" claimed the awe- struck Brand, although he neglected to explain why) made an effective case for Barat rather than Pete Doherty being the major talent in their band The Libertines.

When Charlatans singer Tim Burgess joined them for a sterling rendition of North Country Boy, the roof wasn't quite raised, but it may have been slightly dislodged.

And them, long after the clock had struck 10 and many members of the audience gave every impression of requiring Focus's assistance, there was Noel Gallagher. Nobody was going to chant for Liam during this set.

Not taking the lazy charity option, Gallagher stripped down his music and underlined why Oasis are so beloved. Whereas Liam stands and swaggers through songs, Noel sat and sang with unadorned tenderness.

Paul Weller joined him to race through The Jam's rarely heard Thick As Thieves with Noel on expert harmony, but the soothed rabble sang along to Wonderwall, a heart-stoppingly beautiful Look Back In Anger and The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever. Sweet charity indeed.

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